Green for the Dogs

Curiously Green is an exclusive weekly Earth 911 series showcasing the adventures of a couple going green. This week Sheila and Gary, a couple from Phoenix, Arizona discuss cleaning up after pets in a green way.

Sheila Bocchine is a pinhole photographer and Gary Millard is a Phoenix photographer.

She Says:
As much as I love our dog Shadow, even if she loves Gary more, I hate picking up after her. I guess I wouldn’t mind it so much but we were using plastic grocery bags and every now and then, the bags would have holes or be a little worn through and there is always that fear that the dog poop will get on my hands. Can you say, GROSS!

Of course I do pick up after her, and complain when I see dog poop from others left to gather flies and stink up my walking path.

Plastic bags, the debate as to weather or not they are good or bad, will never be resolved; but I do think using a plastic bag that will take many, many, many decades to compost is a very bad idea (especially when you can recycle plastic bags, but that is a post for next time). I did some research and found the bags we use now, BioBag, to be exactly what we were looking for.

The bags are 100 percent biodegradable and 100 percent compostable. I absolutely LOVE the way they feel when I slip my hand into them. BioBags are made from Mater-Bi, the first completely biodegradable and compostable bio-polymer, which comes from renewable resources of agricultural origin. Plus, Mater-bi is produced by the Italian research company, Novamont, and well I just love everything us Italians invent!

They are about $5 for 50 bags and we are on our second set of bags. So it’s a very inexpensive way to green your pet and keep less trash out of the landfills.

I bet the way we pick up after our dogs will change in the near future, especially if all cities follow in San Francisco’s footprint and start turning your dog waste into energy.

Anyway, pick up after your dog with whatever you have handy, because I will hunt you down if I accidentally step in it . . . but think about using biodegradable bags.

He Says:
We live in a apartment and have a dog, so when Shadow has to go, we have to go with her. The upside of this is that there isn’t a back yard or a court yard that is filling up with dog waste. The down side is that we use lots of plastic bags, usually grocery store or department store bags to pick up after Shadow.

Sheila has recently brought it to my attention that my practice of using grocery bags and turning them inside out and tying the bag shut was not so great for the environment. The bags don’t break down and the dog waste is trapped in the bag. Almost the equivalent of the sealed water bottle of urine being thrown out the car window and left on the side of the road. Maybe not that bad, because at least I put them in the trash.

Thats all changed since we started using BioBag, 100 percent compostable and biodegradable bags from Norway. It’s weird to see something with six languages on how to pick up after your pet and none of them is Spanish.

Made out of corn, the brown bags have super silky feel to them. I need a pair of gloves that feel this smooth or bed sheets. My hand fits comfortably in the bag which is seven and a half inches by 11 inches. This size is usually enough to pick up after Shadow, considered a medium sized dog at 60 pounds.

Unfortunately Shadow is an omnivore and a world class scavenger, and what goes in usually comes out the other side. Sometimes one bag is not enough, especially after Shadow eats half a loaf of bread, finishes the tortillas or snags a sandwich that Sheila left on the counter.

This transition to a greener pet has been one of our easiest so far. We stopped using the plastic bags that the grocery store gives out and started using our own reusable grocery bags (which is a whole different post). This led to a shortage of bags when it came time to walk Shadow.

BioBags have filled a void that had been created by Sheila’s dictatorial edict “No More Plastic Grocery Bags In This House!” Although not really cost effective, now we have to pay for bags, when in the past using plastic grocery store bags were free. It’s nice to know that Shadow and I are not creating biological time bombs fermenting in plastic bags, two or three times a day.

Sheila Bocchine and Gary Millard are both Phoenix photographers.