Dogs rule in Portland. I see them all over. Thankfully, I hardly ever see their poo. That’s because their owners dutifully (heh) bend over and pick up their best friend’s steaming little pile of doo doo. I don’t own a dog, but I have a friend that does. Each week I give my buddy the soft plastic bags that have accrued over the week. Despite my overall waste-conscious efforts (I bring my own cloth bags to the grocery store; I buy in bulk; I bring Tupperware when I go out to eat), somehow, someway, I generate plastic bags. (I think they reproduce in the dark corner of my kitchen).

Anyway, at first I gave my friend ALL of my plastic bags. A few months later, I learned that some bags are better than others for picking up poo. The crinkly stiff bags that my cereal comes in? Not so good. The soft, narrow bag that my loaf of NatureBake Spelt bread comes in? Mmmmm, perfect. It is clear, medium-sized, and usually has no holes. In the hierarchy of poo-picker-uppers, these bags are like gold. I give them to my friend and he is very grateful. If you know someone with a dog, consider asking them if they need soft plastic bags – you’ll be their new best friend. (Sort of).

I hear about folks buying compostable bags made from corn, and I just am not sure what to think. There are a lot of times when compostable bags are appropriate… but when you think of the oil used to grow the corn, then the processing, and then the transportation of these special bags… for someone to buy it… to use once… for dog poo? I just don’t know. It’s hard to measure the full life-cycle analysis of these processes.  Sure, ideally everyone would walk around with a little scooper and shovel and bury the dog waste, not using a bag. But for 99.9% of the population, walking around with a scooper is not feasible. So we use bags, and doo (heh) the best that we can.