You’re safe; there will not be any poop pictures in this blog post.
Recently, in one of my get-up-to-pee-at-4-a.m. half-awake brain fogs, I finally broke down and ordered on Amazon defecation collection bags for my foster dog (lol, I just wanted to say the euphemistic “defecation”).
There is a big field behind my house where I take my foster dogs to do their business, and I’ve been using my seemingly (but no so seemingly lately) endless bag of plastic bags — if you’ve reached a certain age as an adult, you know the one — to scoop up their poop. I then tie the bag, and toss it into my outdoor Rumpke trash can.
But, I was partly getting tired of exhausting my plastic bag reserve, and also, I do care about the environment! Why not try something a little bit more eco friendly to clean up after my four-legged friend?
I can’t, and wouldn’t, claim to be someone who lives a plastic-free life. I already mentioned I literally have a bag whose sole purpose is to hold a bunch of plastic bags. But when I can do something sensible to not use plastic bags, like to pick up waste, then it makes sense to do that. And the need, according to the company I ordered from, is great: 500 million plastic poop bags are used annually in the world. And that’s just to poop collection!
I ordered the Pet N Pet pick up bags, the basic line. I didn’t realize in my brain fog that I ordered such a big box, but it comes with 60 rolls, equaling 1,080 bags (18 bags per roll), which the company claims will last more than a year. Which, I could see that. At best, my dog might poop twice per day. Two poops per day is two bags. At a year of pooping, that’s 730 bags, giving me 350 bags, so 175 more days of poop collecting into a second year. Not bad for only $21.99!
The bags are also 9×13 inches, so as to accommodate poops of all sizes. No poop discrimination here! They are smaller than a plastic bag one gets at the grocery store (and thus fit in my pocket better than a bulky plastic bag, so that’s nice), but they seem up to the task of poop collection.
Finally, they are green and unscented. Darn, I was hoping for some lilac fragrance to counteract the dog poop smell. I kid, I kid. Honestly, once it’s in the bag, and swinging down by your side for the duration of the walk, you don’t even notice the smell. At least, I don’t. And who cares if you do? It won’t kill you.
On top of that, the product is United States Department of Agriculture-certified as a biobased product, consisting of 38 percent biobased products. So, if you’re into composting, it’s an option apparently. And each roll’s roll core is made up of cardboard, so that’s recyclable, too. In fact, the entire packaging seems to be recyclable, which is why the box has that symbol of being 100 percent Earth-friendly. I’ve seen older versions of their product that still had a tiny plastic window, but that’s gone now.
One of the benefits of the new packaging that they tout is that they are 16.66 percent thicker. Since they are such plant-based products, they can tear rather easily, or have in the past, which is why Pet N Pet is touting the thickness. This thickness ensures the company’s 100 percent leak-proof guarantee. Now, I literally just used one to pick up a rather wet pile of doggy poop, and there was no leakage!
“Each Pet N Pet poop bag is 100 percent Leak Proof to make late night poop walks fun and withstand all other messy situations a dog-owner winds up in.”
That’s a fun sentence. First, that late night poop walks can be fun (they can be!), and the insinuation that these poop bags could help in all other messy situations a dog-owner winds up in, aka I could sling it at a would-be mugger, or use it as a tourniquet if my dog and I come upon a gunshot victim (16.66 percent more thick!).
In addition, the company is touting the sticker that comes on each roll (holding the roll together) being easier to tear off of the first bag than before. Also, true. I had no issues with it.
The bag also features arrows and “open” to indicate where to open the bag for dummies like me. Very helpful.
Overall, I was pretty satisfied. They remind me of the little plastic bags you rip off at the grocery store in the produce section. Those can sometimes be tricky to open, which I was worried about happening here, and in fact, I couldn’t do it on my first try this morning when it was dark out; I blame it being dark out because I got it the second time just moments ago. The trick is to rub the material between your thumb and forefinger to separate it, and open. Easy to tie, too, despite not having the actual handles a grocery plastic bag has.
If you’re a dog-lover, who has been using other methods for picking up your furry friend’s poop, I’d recommend getting these rather inexpensive, more friendly to the Earth poop bags. I honestly think the main appeal to me is that I am not going to run through this box any time soon.
Milam's Musings 