Everyday Wellness in Brecksville: Picking Up After Your Dog

We have a container in our garage where we store used plastic grocery bags. My dog loves them. The poor little guy is partly deaf, or maybe entirely deaf. But he could be in a deep sleep at the furthest corner of the house, with a fan blowing right next to his head and he would hear the rattle of the grocery bags. He would hear it if I even thought about pulling one out of the container. I think it’s actually more of a psychic ability than hearing.

The reason, of course, is because the bags signify that it’s time to go for a walk. And all of us dog-walkers are familiar with the strange feeling of walking through our neighborhoods while carrying a bag full of dog poop.

CBS News, via the Associated Press, reported last year that even President Obama goes through this ritual.

But why do we have to pick it up? According to the Northeast Ohio Sewer District website, more than 90,000 dogs live in Cuyahoga County, which means about 45 tons of dog waste every day. And all of this waste contains harmful bacteria, like fecal coliform, e. coli, salmonella and giardia.

When it rains, the bacteria are carried by runoff and groundwater to our local waterways, polluting our streams and lakes. This polluted water can make us sick. It also has a negative impact on wildlife and disrupts ecosystems.

Another reason we pick up after our dogs is to be courteous, because it's not fun to step in the stuff.

And one more reason is because the City of Brecksville’s Code of Ordinances, which is available at the , mandates that all pet owners must do so.

But I’ve wondered many times how ecologically responsible it is to put a biodegradable substance into a plastic bag and send it to a landfill.

According to Green City Blue Lake, doing so is better than leaving the waste on the lawn. But there are some eco-friendly options to using plastic bags. An article on their website says that one inexpensive way is to use biodegradable bags, most of which break down in around 30 days.

Another option they suggest is to use a scooper and a pet-waste composter system, which will breakdown the waste and make it harmless. Instructions for making one are on Green City Blue Lake’s website.

I think for now I'll invest in some biodegradable bags. And I bet my dog already knows that I'm thinking about buying them.