SKAGIT COUNTY, Wash. — Biodegradable dog poop bags being left on the side of trials in western Washington are piling up, and officials are asking people to be more mindful of how they dispose of them.
When Britany Ballard takes her dogs out for a walk she knows at some point it will turn into a hot mess.
"I see a lot of poop. I see a lot of moldy poop on trails and most of what I see is bagged poop on the trails," Ballard said.
Those biodegradable poop bags are piling up in the environment. People are picking up after their dogs but then leave it - thinking the bag will dissolve and take its contents with it.
"I think people have the right intentions at first, but those intentions only get them half way," said Ballard.
It turns out, those biodegradable bags are more brown than green. In fact, when left outside, "it creates a poop bomb," said Karen DuBose of Skagit County Public Works.
Yes. A poop bomb.
"These are plastic bags. They're engineered to degrade in an industrial composting facility. We're talking high temperatures and lots of mixing with other things. They don't break down in nature. Then you put poop in it, which is full of bacteria and pathogens and whatnot, it creates a hazard to the environment," explained DuBose. "Now, you've got poop and plastics in the environment."
All that mess can get other animals sick and make its way into our water, poisoning shellfish and even swimmers.
Between Skagit and Whatcom Counties, dogs create 80,000 pounds of poop every day.
Skagit County is pushing out a new program, telling people to, number one, bag their pet's poop and, number two, throw number two in the trash. Keeping humanity safe from poop bombs.
"It litters our environment and it makes it crappy, no pun intended, for everyone involved," Ballard said, chuckling.
The esteemed publication "The Journal of Applied Psychology" studied how many people pick up after their dogs. They found only 60% do. Many of those who don't lie about it.