Portland, Oregon's Plastic Bag Ban and Pet Waste

The city of Portland just passed a resolution to ban single-use plastic bags in stores by January 2012. The state of Oregon is considering a statewide ban. And Fred Meyer stores are voluntarily giving up plastic bags in their 10 Portland stores as of August 1, 2010.

The environmental benefits are obvious. But many people re-use those plastic bags in their households, and are now asking, "What will I do with my cat/dog's wastes now?

Personally, I don't think we're entitled to have grocery stores supply plastic bags for our household needs. But ignoring that, I've been exploring ways to handle pet waste without using plastic grocery bags, or even purchased bags.

Buy bags

Purchasing plastic bags is the first thing that comes to mind, and probably the easiest. Pet waste bags are available in the pet aisles at your local grocery store, or at pet stores. Yes, you'll have to pay for them instead of getting them "free."

The bags may be biodegradable, or even compostable. However, be aware that if these bags end up in a landfill anyway, they may or may not actually break down. A 2004 study by the National Institute for Environmental Studies showed "great variations in the degradability of BPs in aerobic and anaerobic waste landfills."

Beyond the bag: Flushing

That's why you may want to think beyond the bag. What will you do with the plastic pet waste bags when they're full? The Environmental Protection Agency says, "Flushing pet waste is the best disposal method."

Some pet waste bags are marked as flushable. However, you need to make sure your plumbing can handle this. If you have older plumbing, a septic tank, cesspool, etc., you probably don't want to use flushable bags. However, you can still flush pet waste without the bag. Just empty the bag into the toilet, flush, and discard the bag.

Of course, this works whether you use a bag or not! You can also pick up waste with newspaper or a pooper-scooper and then flush it.

If you have a cat, look for flushable cat litter. Again, if you have older or non-standard plumbing, this may not work for you.

Beyond the bag: Composting (not)

Portland's Bureau of Environmental Services does not recommend home composting or burying of pet waste, because it may not completely destroy harmful microorganisms, which can then get into the ground water or your garden.

However, you can get special pet waste disposal systems, such as the Doggie Dooley, which will safely break down pet wastes with special enzymes. These systems install outdoors and are similar to small compost bins in appearance.

Hire it out

Yes, you can outsource this one. A pet waste cleanup service can clean up your yard and/or dispose of the pet waste for you. In Portland, try DoodyCalls, Scoop Doggie Dog, Portland Pet Waste Pickup, or Green Dog Cleaning Company. And if you want to make sure your pet waste is handled in an environmentally friendly way, Green Dog professionally composts all of the pet waste they pick up, rather than throwing it into a landfill.

Prices for pet waste cleanup services range from $4.95 per week to have a waste container picked up for composting (you remove wastes from the yard yourself) to $8-10 per week for a full weekly yard cleanup for one dog (additional dogs cost more). Green Dog also does cat litter box service for $9.95 per week.

SOURCES
Portland City Council, Agenda for July 27, 2010 - Item No. 1085, Office of the City Auditor
Laura Gunderson, "Fred Meyer drops plastic bags at Portland stores," OregonLive
Janie Har, "Oregon lawmakers in 2011 may ban plastic bags, charge for paper bags in 2012," OregonLive
Ishigaki T, "The degradability of biodegradable plastics in aerobic and anaerobic waste landfill model reactors," PubMed
EPA, "After the Storm," U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Bureau of Environmental Services, "Maintaining Your Stormwater Management Facility: Home Owner Handbook," Portland Bureau of Environmental Services