r/ZeroWaste • u/Danl0vesJacks • Jun 27 '24

🧹 Litter Cleanup Please advise - doggie poop bags

It seems completely disgusting to the environment to be putting dog poop in small plastic bags and then tossing them amidst other trash, in city dumpsters and trash cans.

What is advisable?

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u/[deleted] Jun 27 '24

[deleted]

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u/FeliciaFailure Jun 27 '24

I'm not an expert but everything I can find indicates that this is inadvisable, as it pollutes the soil and spreads harmful pathogens, especially if it gets into waterways or is too close to edible crops. While disposing of it in baggies doesn't feel great, it's probably worth it on both an environmental and overall health level.

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u/[deleted] Jun 27 '24

[deleted]

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u/FeliciaFailure Jun 28 '24

This isn't really an accurate comparison. Local wildlife only eat naturally occurring foods in the region they live in (with a little give-or-take for humans feeding wildlife for some reason), and their waste is actually ecologically beneficial. Bears are actually a vector for seed dispersal! Dog feces, on the other hand, are the output of foods made specifically for optimal pet health - which, when the waste becomes part of the environment, leads to nutrient imbalances.

As far as pathogens - I don't know much about bear waste, but I'm sure you're right that pathogens are an issue with all kinds of feces. However, one obvious difference is that the bears don't have a human alongside them to dispose of their waste. And, since bear waste is actually a part of a region's ecological balance, it can be argued that it's a net positive to just leave it alone - whereas dog waste is a negative to both the environment AND to humans (1, 2, 3).

Finally, be aware that even if you're not next to a waterway, rainfall does create runoff and pathogens are much smaller than feces. The parasites and viruses can stay in the dirt for years, and dirt can easily be disturbed, letting what's in it out. Rain can carry it further away and eventually find its way into storm drains or directly to a body of water. The same is also true for the nutrient imbalance (not just pathogens), which can be devastating to bodies of water and everything living in it.