Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Grappling with Green



Now that my sister and I have this canine, we've been running through all the old plastic grocery bags like it ain't no thing. Although I'm feeling good that Piggie the Pug is finally learning to take care of her biznizz outside, I'm feel incredibly BAD about all the non-biodegradable, plastic waste I'm injecting into our beloved earth.

So, I did some research and found some biodegradeable bags (from multiple manufacturers). One particular one, BioBag Dog Waste Bag, is made of corn (just like the corn utensils I bought not too long ago), and it seemed like exactly what I needed.

Anyway, I was just about to click the "buy" button to snag some, when I read on a different site that you have to dispose of the BioBags in a compost bin. Aiya! I don't have a compost bin; I live in an apartment! It ain't so easy to just have a compost bin, ya know. And, the City of Long Beach only provides us with a blue recycling trash can and a black waste bin; there's no green bin!

Here, I was thinking I was doing the earth and my grandkids a great favor by shelling out some scrilla (instead of stealing plastic bags from the grocery store-- something my mother would do) for biodegradeable Piggie waste bags, but instead I'm reading that it won't make difference unless you properly dispose of them in a compost bin.

BioBags, as well as all biodegradable materials placed in [airlocked or anaerobic] landfills, don't decompose very well. This is because they are not exposed to the oxygen and microorganisms that help break down biodegradable substances including newspapers, yard waste and kitchen waste.

In "open" or "turned" landfills, BioBags will break down at about the same rate as other similarly biodegradable materials that are found in these solid waste disposal areas.


I suppose I can call up the City to see if they'll supply me with a green bin, or I can search on the Internet for a local composting site. But seriously...I am not storing a collection of dog turd in my apartment until I can get to a composting site.

Does anybody have any recommendations?

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