Ban environmental claims on dog poo bags

Are you fed up with companies claiming plastic is compostable or biodegradable when there is no way it can be? So are we!

Compostable dog poo bags DO NOT break down in the open environment. As they are only sent for incineration or landfill, we do not believe manufacturers should claim they are compostable or biodegradable.

We would like dog poo bag manufacturers and retailers to remove anything that suggests plastic dog poo bags will break down from all marketing; including, the bags themselves, websites and adverts. This includes but is not limited to the words “compostable”, “biodegradable”, and green claims like “eco”, “environmental” or “good for the planet”. Basically, we want all dog poo bag manufacturers and retailers to follow the guidance laid out in the Green Claims Code.

For three primary reasons:

With 13 million dogs in the UK, and around 36 million bags used a day, this is a massive problem. Add into that the estimated 260,000 people who leave the poo bags lying around, according to Keep Britain Tidy who support the petition, and we feel this is a problem we need to sort out.  

Elephant (or should that be dog) in the room, compostables must be better for the planet, right?

Well… not quite.

Here’s the thing; context matters. When it comes to plastic, how it’s used is just as important as what it’s made from. And in this case, dog poo should never be composted or recycled. So, why do companies claim it will be?

Compostable plastic can be useful, it can reduce our reliance on oil-based plastic (although most compostables dog poo bags are not made of plants - see the FAQ on our website for more), and in specific applications could be better than traditional plastic. Examples of uses that could be better than non-compostable plastics include food waste liners, bags for fresh produce and meats, and even tea bags.

We are not proposing to ban the use of compostable plastic in dog poo bags, as some companies may feel it is the best plastic to use and we do not want to restrict any innovation. However, we do not believe these products should be marketed to the public as such if there is no way for them to degrade in the UK. 

Worse still, the word “compostable” creates confusion. A small but problematic number of dog owners assume that if the bag is compostable, it’s okay to leave it behind. That it, and the poo inside, will magically vanish. Spoiler: it won’t.

But wait, aren’t compostable plastics made from plants? Doesn’t that make them better? Not necessarily. Any plastic can technically be made from plants, but making compostable plastics from bio-based sources doesn’t guarantee a lower carbon footprint. In fact, compostables and virgin plastic can have a carbon footprint around 30% - 80% higher than recycled plastic! To make matters worse, according to Pet Impact (another campaign supporter), most compostable poo bags are made with oil-derived plastics, see the FAQ on our website for more.

Here’s the bottom line; compostable dog poo bags will never be composted. They end up in landfill or incineration. 

There is precedent for this. In 2019, the Advertising Standards Authority ruled that Ancol Pet Products Ltd could not use the line “these thick waste bags are biodegradable to lessen your dog’s impact on the environment” as claiming biodegradability on a bag that had no route to biodegrade was misleading. Despite this, most dog poo bags today are marketed as “compostable” or “biodegradable”, and many contain the word “eco”. This could not be further from the truth, and we believe is nothing more than greenwashing. 

That’s why we’re calling for a ban on environmental claims on dog poo bags that don’t adhere to the Green Claims Code. Let’s keep it simple, sustainable, and honest, and save the word “compostable” for products that are actually compostable.

The Advertising Standards Authority published new advice in April specifically addressing claims surrounding biodegradable and compostable products. The key tenets of this advice state that marketers should:

We believe that compostable dog poo bags fly in the face of each of these points. Yet the advice is just that - advice. It isn’t legally binding and producers are not compelled to act on it.