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End-of-Life Management of Biodegradable Plastic Dog Poop Bags through Composting of Green Waste
Summary
Researchers tested composting of green waste as an end-of-life management strategy for biodegradable plastic dog poop bags, measuring biodegradation in laboratory composting reactors at 4-week and 90-day intervals. All investigated bag types achieved 100% decomposition after 90 days, though the resulting compost mixed with dog waste did not meet high-quality standards, indicating the feasibility but not optimization of this disposal pathway.
Plastic waste derived from plastic dog poop bags (DPBs) could be considered a negligible source of plastic waste. However, it is estimated that this kind of waste contributes to 0.6% of the total plastic waste generated worldwide, and it is expected to increase in the following years. Plastic dog poop bags can be replaced with biodegradable and bio-based alternatives. These alternatives can biodegrade in various environments such as composting, soil, or water and thus allow for end-of-life management without the risk of contaminating the environment with microplastics. However, not all biodegradable bags are always compostable. In this study, we tested composting as the end-of-life management of selected biodegradable dog poop bags (i.e., prototypes of bags and commercially available bags). We analyzed the biodegradation of selected biodegradable plastic dog poop bags during the composting of green waste in laboratory composting reactors after 4 weeks and 90 days of composting. All the investigated DPBs decomposed 100% after 90 days of composting. However, the fresh compost obtained after the 90-day composting of green waste mixed with the investigated bags containing dog poop did not demonstrate high quality.