Dog poop bags have become so commonly used, it's hard to believe there was ever a time that dog-walkers typically let their pooches go Number 2 in parks or on other peoples' lawns, with no intentions of cleaning it up. While it's definitely a good thing that such is no longer the case (for the most part, at least), there's still the small matter of what happens to the bagged excrement once it's thrown away. Conventional bags keep it sealed inside, perhaps so that future archeologists can marvel at it when digging through our landfills. Even biodegradable bags take a long time to break down under certain conditions, and leave landfills full of untreated feces. Flush Puppies flushable doodie bags, however, reportedly allow dog poop to be flushed down the toilet, so it can be treated in a municipal sewage system.
The bags are made from water-soluble polyvinyl alcohol, which biodegrades into water and carbon dioxide when submerged. Although dog feces do contain a certain amount of water themselves, Flush Puppies are said to have a solubility point that keeps them from being dissolved by their stinky cargo before it gets flushed.
Once they have been sent on their way, the bags shouldn't have a problem getting through the pipes, even in houses with old plumbing. That said, the company recommends that homeowners not flush them if they have previously been warned not to flush supposedly "flushable" wet wipes. In such cases, the filled bags will just have to go the landfill, where they should at least break down relatively quickly.
More ambitious dog owners who aren't able to flush the bags, however, could try fermenting them and their contents, using the BokashiPetCycle pet waste fermentation system.
Flush Puppies are available online, at a price of US$8.97 for a pack of 60 8 x 10-inch (20.3 x 25.4 cm) bags.
Source: ThinkGeek
