Did you know that New York City’s waste is over 7% plastic, like bags or “use once” items? 7% may not jump out as huge, but if you think about how New York City’s human population is over 8 million and rising… Well, that’s a lot of plastic. And considering that plastic takes super long to even beginning thinking about decomposing, people claim that the first piece of plastic ever made is still floating around somewhere.

In 2012, it was estimated that about 600,000 dogs  were registered in the city. Now, I’m going to approximate that each pup poops ~2 times a day. Put a little wiggle room in there for unregistered dogs, and you start seeing a rise of plastic bags being used.
Yes, there are people who don’t use plastic poop bags on doo-doo-duty. But this week’s tip may be of service, still! For the Earth-Conscious dog lovers, there are several brands of degradable poop bags, just waiting to be filled.

The BioBag

The bags listed here are degradable, but not all of them are biodegradable. In fact, it’s really hard to meet the laws that earn the prefix bio. But… the Biobag may be the first one. Made with Mater-Bi, which is a pretty young invention, the bags are starch, vegetable oils, and cellulose. Because they are biodegradable, the bags can even be composted. But it’s the poop within the bag that you may have problems placing. Unfortunately, composting dog poop in your home-composter isn’t always a great idea. So, if your building has a composting project, or you have a yard you like to garden in, be aware!There are new projects about safely composting dog waste, and there are facilities that will take it from you. Take a look on Find A Composter! And to find out more about Mater-Bi, you can look at this study.

Earth Rated PoopBags

Just Pennies Per Poop is a motto I think I could get behind. I’ve seen these green bags around town, and they don’t disappoint. They’re made with a chemical additive, which means it isn’t biodegradable at the standards the United States requires. But the added chemical helps the bags degrade—and the company is very aware and conscience about meeting moral and legal regulations, so they offer an alternative clear-white bag that meets compostable needs. Even their green-dispensers are recyclable. Could be worth a poop-and-scoop!

Flush Puppies

Get it…? You know… like a slush puppy. But Flush Puppy...these bags may be one of the more unique options available today. They aren’t just degradable; they are compostable, and as the name suggests are flushable. The baggies are made from Polyvinyl Alcohol which dissolves in water. Septic safe! Their site says it is safe to flush dog waste, but my research says it isn’t: it’s dangerous to introduce pet waste into water supply. But different places have different regulations! The fact that they are compostable is a wonderful alternative to flushing.

DogiPot

I can’t find much about what these bags are made of, but they are putting a strong effort into health and environment. Leaving pet waste around is a recipe for bacteria and a potential for disease. I find DogiPot on this list because they have made it easy for dog runs, and dog friendly places to have stocked poop-bag dispensers! Like soda in a vending machine, the DogiPot Station can be put almost anywhere.