Helping Barney Take Care of His Pelagic Bretheren!

I find that a reason that many people use to keep plastic shopping bags around is that they are needed to dispose of their pet waste. When they leave the house or apartment they grab a couple of "old" plastic grocery bags and take Barney out to get some exercise and do his business. Well how exactly are Barney, his poo and you affecting our earth and oceans?

• Estimates vary, but between 500 BILLION and 1 TRILLION plastic bags are consumed annually worldwide.
• According to the Wall Street Journal, the United States consumes 100 billion plastic shopping bags which take an estimated 12 million barrels of oil to produce.
• Plastic bags contribute to the deaths of an estimated 100,000 plus sea turtles, seals, whales and dolphins every year and an estimated 1 million seabirds! Refer to the previous posting to see just how big of an impact this has made in Manhattan Beach, California
• Plastic bags are among the 12 most common things found in Marine Debris

So what if Barney doesn't want to do damage to our oceans every time nature calls? Don't worry there is hope for you and Barney! Yes, there is an alternative for using plastic bags to dispose of pet waste. There are now pet waste bags that are made out of water soluble PVA film. This allows you to take Barney for his walk, let him do his business, pick up after him and then flush the waste down YOUR toilet, NOT the local storm drain. The bag dissolves in the water in less than a minute and the fecal matter is sent to your local water treatment plant where it can be properly handled and treated!

A company that I have recently started buying these bags from is ECOmmitted and the bags are called "Flush Puppies"!