Hawaii Bans Certain Uses of Plastic Bags starting 2015

[Tussiemussies]

Saw this on Facebook today and cheecked it with snopes and then checked google. It is the truth. Unfortunately I use these bags to clean up after my dog. I wish there was another way. I did see a thread on this before but not sure what the outcome was. DH said he saw plastic bags that had a faster biodegradable rate. He thought two years.

Any other ideas? Thanks christine

[sweetana3]

I am waiting too for this as we use recycled bags to clean up after our cats. I collect them from the recycling boxes at the front of the store. Guess we could always use paper lunch sacks but I hate to use paper too.

[catherine]

Yes, I definitely rely on plastic from the supermarket to clean up after my dog, too.

I looked up "pooper scoopers" on Amazon and here's what they have:

http://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Pet-Supplies-Pooper-Scoopers/zgbs/pet-supplies/3052415011

I'm not crazy about the long handled style, because I take long walks with the dog and can't see myself carting around this tool. OTOH, DH and I are starting a compost bin and I was thinking of "recycling" the dog waste (that's allowed in composting, right?)

Maybe purchasing the biodegradable bags is the only other option.

[redfox]

No, don't put dog waste in your compost!!

http://www.doggiedooley.com/

[iris lily]

catherine, we've been composting for 25 years and we never put pet poop or meat scraps in the compost. Don't do it.

You can compost poop from non-meat eating animals such as rabbits, sheep, horses. That turns into delicious stuff for the garden.

I use a lot of grocery store plastic bags for pet waste. When they are gone, I'll figure out something else I suppose.

[catherine]

Oops!! thanks for the scoop on the no-poop!

(Man, you can tell I'm a newbie at this!)

[Mrs-M]

It's funny, because whenever I think of Hawaii, and other "like" places, I picture sterile environments free of waste and refuse, but reality expresses differently, doesn't it. I'm glad to see a push for change, but I believe the changes we are seeing are futile, and amount to little in the big scheme of things.

[Mrs-M]

LOL, Catherine! Honestly, no animal waste (period), is our adage.

[CathyA]

I wish the entire world would stop making plastics (at least consumer stuff......not necessarily medical equipment, etc.). Have you seen the piece on that giant island of plastic floating in the pacific?
Necessity is the mother of invention.......without plastics, we would think of something else...........hopefully not equally as bad or worse than plastic.
Our doggie makes pretty small poop and we just leave it feed the back yard. I realize for some people, this isn't possible. I guess I would go with paper if I had to. Maybe waxed paper to pick it up with?

I have used my cloth Kroger bags for 25 years and they're still going strong. Think of all the paper and plastic I didn't use? Imagine if everyone did that!
but then there's stuff like the plastic that stuff like cheese, meat, chips, dog food, chicken food, etc., etc. are packaged in. Its pretty overwhelming.
I'm on a tangent...........sorry.
Good luck finding an alternative. I know you will.
Catherine..........and no dairy products in your compost either. I think the main reason for no poop or dairy is that it draws alot of pests to the pile.
I used to use horse manure and it was GREAT in the garden. Now I use chicken poop and its great too.
I never thought about it IL, but you're probably right about not using any meat-eater's poop.

[catherine]

There are a couple of blogs by people who have gone plastic-free entirely.

My most recent graphic reminder of the ubiquitousness of plastic in our environment was this horrifying picture of a dead bird that had partially decomposed only to reveal its gut filled with plastic bottle caps, and other plastic riffraff:

http://myplasticfreelife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Albatross_Eats_Plastic-100x75.jpg

Here's the blog post that goes with it (can't remember if I initially read this on this site or not--if so, apologies for the redundancy.)

http://myplasticfreelife.com/2012/07/midway-journey-a-personal-plea-for-your-help/

[ApatheticNoMore]

Lots and lots of cities will ban them before 2015, but that is the first whole state I guess.


DH said he saw plastic bags that had a faster biodegradable rate. He thought two years.

this is mostly a marketing scam, I forget all the reasons. But for one thing they won't necessarily degrade in landfill conditions and some of them are actually worse for the environment than plastic bags (yea like I said I forget all the reasons right now).

[ToomuchStuff]

I do have to say, thanks for the chuckle. I pictured lots of flaming bags of dog poo, when Tuss said any other idea's.