Why I decided to pay $8 for a box of 50 bags that are used for nothing more than picking up my dog’s dump: Because, unlike the 1,000-or-so plastic grocery bags stuffed underneath the cabinet of my kitchen sink, THESE poop bags will actually disappear from the Earth in a reasonable amount of time–they decompose at about the rate of an apple, according to the blurb on the side of the box that clinched my decision to buy them.

These bags are definitely different than your typical plastic bag–they have the texture of a deflated balloon. Why does that matter? It doesn’t, but I’d rather think about the texture of the bag than the texture of the poop inside the bag. Just sayin’.

Are these bags more novel than practical? Probably not yet. Don’t think John Q Dogowner is ready to pay a premium for poop bags.

The verdict: If you’re looking for one more way to go green and don’t mind shelling out some extra cash to do so, these bags are right up your alley.

I’m really curious about how many days it actually takes for the bags to decompose…so I have one sitting in the back yard.

Tick, tick, tick.

You can check these bags out for yourself at poopbags.com.