Picking up dog poo has to be the least glamourous part of pet ownership – that and pulling grass out of their butthole. We’ve all been there. I have two dogs, that’s at least four poops to pick up every single day – or 1,460 poos a year.
Let me tell you some even more staggering stats. There are around 900 million dogs in the world. That’s a minimum of 2.7 billion poops per day or 985 billion a year, which works out at 8.13 trillion kilograms of CO2 that could be added to the atmosphere each year by dog owners using plastic or biodegradable poop bags.
But, biodegradable poop bags are better for the planet, right? Wrong. What you want to be looking for is compostable bags. This is because the biodegradable label is unregulated, and doesn’t need a timeframe in which the product breaks down. It just means that it could break down eventually – which could be years.
Planet Underdog is on a mission to educate dog owners on the impact their choice of poo bag could have on the environment, offering their own range of fun, colourful and often sweary poo bags in the process.
Clare Wadsworth, owner of the brand and beautiful pooch Snoopy, said: “Planet Underdog was formed because of our love of the planet. We should care for our planet as much as we do for our lovely dogs. Planet Underdog is not just focused on making the highest quality products for your pets, but also the most planet-friendly, and in the most sustainable way possible.”
Planet Underdog hope to convert as many dog owners as possible to compostable poop bags .and by doing so, reducing the environmental impact on our planet. Clare added: “We have a simple purpose: to help dog owners play their part in saving the planet by using compostable poop bags. By doing so we can support climate and dog organisations in raising precious additional funds to continue their work.”
Unlike recyclable poo bags, which sees waste converted into reusable material, or biodegradable, which breaks down into smaller pieces over time, but can take years to fully disappear, Planet Underdog’s poo bags are compostable, meaning they break down fully into natural components which are planet-friendly.
The bags come in yellow, blue and red, pink, each with their own slogan on the front, and decompose fully without producing toxic residue as they break down. They are made from cornstarch and are 18 microns thick, which is thicker than your average poo bag, weighing in at 13-15 microns.
The yellow bag hilariously reads ‘Full of sh*t’ on the front, while the pink says ‘Sh*t happens’, the blue bags are slightly more reserved, reading ‘Saving the planet one poop at a time’. I like the cheekiness of these bags, and how humour has been injected into one of the most unsavoury parts of dog mum and dog dad duties.
Prices start at £5.99 for 60 bags, which come with four rolls, or 120 bags for £9.99 which contain eight rolls of 15 bags. These rolls are the perfect size for slotting into poo bag holders, pockets and `bag compartments, and if you get a roll of four, you can have one in every place you might need them.
The bags themselves are bigger than most regular poo bags, and are soft to touch while also easy to separate. They’re a good thickness and the size means they’re ideal for large breed dogs like Phoebe, Frank but mostly Winston who’s poop pile could often be mistaken for that of a small horse.
Planet Underdogs poo bags add fun and colour to the dullest part of a dog-owning day, making people smile with their sweary slogans, but also doing some amazing work to help encourage more pet owners to be more environmentally conscious. You can shop their compostable poo bags here.
Read more posts about sustainable products:
- Adios Plastic: Why their compostable poo bags are better than biodegradable
- Inside the Bearkind eco-friendly dog subscription box
- Six ways to be an eco-friendly pet owner as COP26 shines light on climate crisis
- How BrewBix turn upcycled brewery grain into eco-friendly dog biscuits
