Looking for an alternative to plastic dog poop bags? These DIY newspaper bags are the perfect solution. No more paying for poo bags and no more plastic! Learn how to make a newspaper pet waste pickup pouch…

These newspaper dog poo bags are easy to make, easy to use, an eco-friendlier option than plastic dog poop bags and most importantly, leak free (if made properly!). The bonus is that they're free!

We get old newspapers from work, cafes or pick up abandoned ones left on public transport to make these with as we don't buy the newspaper. Ask cafes or stores in your area what they do with old newspapers and if you can have some.

When we take Maddi, our Cattle Dog cross, for a walk, we take a pouch and some extra newspaper pages or Who Gives A Crap toilet paper wrappers with us. We use these extra pages of newspaper or paper wrappers to pick up the poo and place it in the pouch.

We found trying to pick it up with just the pouch difficult and messy. But you can do your own experiments and figure out what works best for you and what you already have that you can use.

Here's how we make our newspaper pouch…

How to make newspaper dog poop bags

We make it as secure as possible before putting it in the public bin in the dog park that is used mostly for picked up dog poo. This is another reason why we use extra newspaper pages and surround the poo with it as much as possible.

OTHER ECO-FRIENDLY DOG POO DISPOSAL OPTIONS

Other options include using any paper bag you come across or that comes into your life instead of making a pouch out of newspaper.

We have also heard of some people just using the outer wrapper of Who Gives A Crap toilet paper to pick up their dog's poo.

Otherwise, if you are able to, a great option is to compost your pet's poo. It is fine to use the resulting fertiliser on plants that are not going to be used as food.

You can buy a pet waste composter like this one (AU) or this one (most countries) or make your own pet waste composter - find out how to do this here.

When you can’t scoop the poop straight in, you'll need to use home compostable dog waste bags. it is very important that they are home compostable and that they are not only compostable in an industrial facility. Examples of dog poop bags that are home compostable are:

• these ones (AU), which are certified to the Australian Home Composting Standard (AS5810),

• these ones (UK), which are Home Compost Certified, and

• these ones (US), which are certified compostable by OK Compost TUV Home S0329, ASTM 6400 and EN13432. 

BioBag and Biotuff compostable dog waste bags are not home compostable for instance.

If your council allows you to put pet waste in your food organics garden organics bin - be sure before doing this! - you can use the bags that are compostable in an industrial facility.

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