Improved labeling needed to keep dog poop bags out of the environment, says researcher Dalhousie

Take a walk along the trails in the county and you are likely to see birds, various flora and fauna, and maybe even some wildlife.

And probably small bags of different colors with dog poop. Like the birds, they sometimes find themselves at the edge of the path, under a bush or on a tree branch.

It’s something that Tony Walker also noticed. The professor at Dalhousie University’s School of Resource and Environmental Studies decided to count the bags while out for a walk one day and saw 50 within 10 minutes.

“It’s not a scientific study that took years to conduct. It was literally a short walk from my house,” Walker said.

Walker’s research focuses on plastic pollution, its impact and solutions to reduce it, and the plentiful bags of doggie doo led him to write a paper on the subject.

“It was just unavoidable. This is one of my pet peeves,” he said.

His assumption has always been that people don’t understand biodegradable and compostable bags, which many poop bags are labeled on.

“I want to give people the benefit of the doubt and not think they’re just causing wanton litter.”

‘Consumer confusion’

He said he’s done other studies of consumer behavior around plastics, “and I know there’s a lot of consumer confusion about the term biodegradable,” he said. “Many people think this is the same as throwing a banana peel or core in the green bin, but that’s not the case.”

He said some bags still contain some petroleum-based plastic, “and they will break down faster than regular plastic, but eventually they fragment into tiny microplastics, causing other problems and other forms of pollution.”

The problem is a combination of some dog owners not reading labels properly, some packaging not being clear about the material used, and some manufacturers using the words biodegradable or compostable in the hope that this will boost their sales, even if the bags are not 100 pieces. cent compostable.

“There’s an element of ‘greenwashing’ with a lot of manufacturers that make biodegradable products because they use green graphics and the recycling symbol, but they’re not really recyclable, but they don’t go in the green bin either,” he said.

“I’m confused and I actually work in this field.”

And then, he said, there may also be people who get lazy and don’t want to carry the bag for a few miles and throw it away, thinking it will break.

Water contamination

And whether the bags release microplastics or are completely organic, if they are thrown into the forest and decompose near waterways, they can release nutrients that can lead to algal blooms and lower oxygen levels that lead to fish deaths, Walker said.

“There are also human effects,” he said. “If children come into contact with dog feces, it contains a parasite that can lead to blindness, as well as other E. coli-causing bacteria.”

He said the simple step is to put it in a bag and then make sure the used bag goes in a garbage can at the park or at home.

“It’s not rocket science. Yes, you may have to lug it for a few miles, but the retainers are there. I wish people would make the connection and use them.

He said his recommendations include better labels and instructions on bags and packaging about proper disposal, more bins on longer routes, and consumers looking for products that are 100 percent plant-based to prevent microplastics from getting in the way. . environment.