Are you fed up with companies claiming plastic is compostable or biodegradable when there is no way it can be? So are we!

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TL:DR 
Compostable dog poo bags DO NOT break down in the open environment, as they are only sent for incineration or landfill, we do not believe manufacturers should claim they are compostable or biodegradable.

 

Our ask
We would like dog poo bag manufacturers and retailers to remove anything that suggests plastic dog poo bags will break down from all marketing; including, the bags themselves, websites and adverts. This includes but is not limited to the words “compostable”, “biodegradable”, and green claims like “eco”, “environmental” or “good for the planet”. Basically, we want all dog poo bag manufacturers and retailers to follow the guidance laid out in the Green Claims Code.

 

Why?
For three primary reasons:

  • Dog poo should not be composted (home or industrial) so any suggestion of a bag that degrades is a false claim
  • We believe suggesting dog poo bags break down encourages littering as people believe the bag will disappear over time – it won’t
  • The best material for dog poo bags to be made from is recycled plastic, generating a market for flexible plastic recycling, which will have mandatory household collection from 2027. This will avoid flexible plastic going to incineration, which is the current trajectory, without a clear market for the output.

 

The problem
With 13 million dogs in the UK1, and around 36 million bags used a day, this is a massive problem. Add into that the estimated 260,000 people2 who leave the poo bags lying around and we feel this is a problem we need to sort out.  

 

Aren’t compostables better?
Elephant (or should that be dog) in the room, compostables must be better for the planet, right?

Well… not quite.

Here’s the thing; context matters. When it comes to plastic, how it’s used is just as important as what it’s made from. And in this case, dog poo should never be composted or recycled. So, why do companies claim it will be?

Compostable plastic can be useful, it can reduce our reliance on oil-based plastic (although most compostables are not made of plants - see our FAQ below), and in specific applications could be better than traditional plastic. Examples of uses that could be better than non-compostable plastics include food waste liners, bags for fresh produce and meats, and even tea bags.

We are not proposing to ban the use of compostable plastic in dog poo bags, as some companies may feel it is the best plastic to use and we do not want to restrict any innovation. However, we do not believe these products should be marketed to the public as such if there is no way for them to degrade in the UK. 

Worse still, the word “compostable” creates confusion. A small but problematic number of dog owners assume that if the bag is compostable, it’s okay to leave it behind. That it, and the poo inside, will magically vanish. Spoiler: it won’t.

But wait, aren’t compostable plastics made from plants? Doesn’t that make them better? Not necessarily. Any plastic can technically be made from plants, but making compostable plastics from bio-based sources doesn’t guarantee a lower carbon footprint. In fact, in this case, compostables have a carbon footprint around 6 times higher than recycled plastic!3 To make matters worse, according to Pet Impact, most compostable poo bags are made with oil-derived plastics, see our FAQ.

 

The truth
Here’s the bottom line; compostable dog poo bags will never be composted. They end up in landfill or incineration. 

There is precedent for this. In 2019, the Advertising Standards Authority ruled that Ancol Pet Products Ltd could not use the line “these thick waste bags are biodegradable to lessen your dog’s impact on the environment” as claiming biodegradability on a bag that had no route to biodegrade was misleading. Despite this, most dog poo bags today are marketed as “compostable” or “biodegradable”, and many contain the word “eco”. This could not be further from the truth, and we believe is nothing more than greenwashing. 

That’s why we’re calling for a ban on environmental claims on dog poo bags that don’t adhere to the Green Claims Code. Let’s keep it simple, sustainable, and honest, and save the word “compostable” for products that are actually compostable.

 

The law
The Advertising Standards Authority published new advice in April specifically addressing claims surrounding biodegradable and compostable products. The key tenets of this advice state that marketers should:

  • Ensure claims that products are biodegradable or compostable are genuine
  • Don’t exaggerate the biodegradeable content of the product
  • Don’t omit information material to a product’s ability to biodegrade or compost
  • Ensure absolute environmental claims apply to the product’s full lifecycle

 

We believe that compostable dog poo bags fly in the face of each of these points. Yet the advice is just that - advice. It isn’t legally binding and producers are not compelled to act on it.

 

Questions you may have
Answered by experts 

 

Why shouldn’t dog poo be home composted?
Answer provided by Talking Rubbish

Dog poo may contain worms that cause Toxocariasis. The disease is caught from soil that has contained worm eggs for a few weeks or months so could spread from compost to food. 

Even if your dog has been treated for Toxocara the treatment itself can leach into the compost, affecting the delicate balance of microorganisms in the compost itself!

Dog poo composting requires a number of precautions to be done safely, it needs to be separate from the regular food waste compost heap, cannot be used for edible plants, so, whilst it could be done, we feel most owners wouldn’t. To be honest, even if you are doing it successfully, you shouldn’t use a bag!

 

Why shouldn’t we use the ‘stick n’ flick’ method i.e. leave poo in the open?
Answer provided by Green Paw Training

It is more sustainable on a wider scale to pick up your dog's poo. Although this requires use of a bag, poo left in our natural spaces can knock delicate ecosystems out of balance; our native wildflowers are used to a certain level of nutrients in the soil, and our dogs’ poo can over fertilise these areas and help invasive plants outcompete our native ones. Dog poo may also have insecticides in it (from flea and worm treatment), risking the health of bugs in the soil. In addition, dog poo can carry potential diseases that affect livestock and wildlife and can even scare off some animals from accessing their homes.

 

Why doesn’t compostable plastic break down in the open environment?
Answer provided by Talking Rubbish

Compostable plastic, whether labelled as home compostable or industrially compostable will require specific conditions to break down. One of those conditions is heat, which is not met, even on the warmest day of the year. In the open environment, compostable plastic will behave just like normal plastic, compostable plastic is found in landfills unchanged after many years. 

 

What should we make dog poo bags from?
Answer provided by Talking Rubbish

Recycled plastic. When plastic is recycled it is often downcycled, bin liners are a perfect route for end-of-life plastic as they are often coloured, allowing them to take a mix of plastic. That’s a smart and sustainable use for hard-to-recycle materials. If we take this one job that recycled plastic is perfect for, and swap it for virgin compostable plastic, we’re doing more harm than good. We’re undermining the recycling system and sending the wrong message to consumers.

From 2027, soft/flexible plastic will be required to be collected from our houses. There is currently not enough of a recycling market for this material, recycled dog poo bags are a perfect solution for our plastic and will have a lower carbon footprint. As recycled plastic is cheaper than compostable plastic we hope banning the messaging and promotion will lead companies to source recycled plastic instead. 

 

Are compostable bags made from 100% plants?
Answer provided by Pet Impact

There are no 100% plant-based compostable poo bags on the market. Although many compostable poo bags are marketed as ''plant based'' or made of corn startch - they only need to contain 20% plant-based material to meet certification requirements, with the rest made from fossil-fuel based materials. Most compostable poo bags contain 50-80% "PBAT" (polybutylene adipate terephthalate), a biodegradable fossil fuel-based plastic. 

 

Is compostable plastic, plastic free?
Answer provided by Pet Impact

While branded as “plastic-free”, these bags are in truth a type of plastic themselves – they are a “bioplastic”. They have the polymeric chemical structure of plastic. Any plant material used in its making has been chemically changed with other polymers added as above.

 

Where should dog poo bags be disposed?
Answer provided by Talking Rubbish

Only ever in the general waste or specific dog poo bin, never try to recycle pet waste. 



References

1 https://www.dogstrust.org.uk/how-we-help/stories/uk-dog-population

2 https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/news/lock-down-puppy-boom-leads-giant-poop-problem-countrys-parks

3 [Online - 30th May 2024] - https://www.becopets.com/blogs/impact/which-bag-compostable-or-recycled