End The Plastic With That Poo: Pooch Pick-up Bags

One thing I hate about living in the city is the constant need, when walking about the residential areas, to monitor my step in order to avoid stepping in dog crap. I think the fines against those who don’t clean up after their dogs needs to be raised incrementally every year until people get it. Yes, it’s totally disgusting to put your bagged hand on warm poop, but after a week or so I’d assume that most people get used to it. But here’s the flip side of that coin: Almost all of us who are responsible this way are being rather irresponsible in another, in that we tend to use plastic shopping bags for the deed. Why wrap it in plastic, are we preserving the shit for posterity? There are alternatives, and one of the best and cheapest are Pooch Pick-Up Bags.

These biodegradable jobs are made from cornstarch and are totally eco-friendly, breaking down in landfills easily, and excellent at their function. They come with handles that tie up smart, containing all odorous evidence of the nasty within. They also come in scented and unscented models, in case you need that extra psychological defense against the act of touching dookie. They hide nicely in a pocket or a handbag, and at 100 bags for five bucks, you can’t go wrong. The bags, and subsequently, the crap, breaks down within a month, much unlike the plastic shopping bag which doesn’t really break down at all within our lifetimes. Turds wrapped in those guys will outlive us!

Pooch Pick-up Bags [amazon.com]

Related: There’s an enormous movement brewing that is calling for people to cease all together the accepting of plastic bags which are so commonly used by bodegas, grocery stores, and most other retailers. The logic is sound: They do not break down in landfills, they are wasteful, they are made out of petroleum and therefore costly to our ever-dwindling supplies, and they simply contribute to greater pollution. When was the last time you saw one stuck in a tree, yesterday? Cut ‘em out of your life wherever possible. It’s easy as hell to carry a reusable bag, or the net-style expandable bag the likes of which the Europeans have been using for decades.