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1. Is dealing with pet waste really such a big deal?
Absolutely! The tale is told in three important trends affecting our current lifestyles and environment.
First, consider the huge growth in the numbers of urban household pets over the last several decades, particularly in those households where dogs are the pet of choice.
Second, the proliferation of governmental agencies and regulations focused on the problems of water resource protection and management.
Third, five decades of environmental research clearly defines the relationship of urban growth, popular pet culture and the bacterial contamination of watershed resources.
The bottom line? It’s simple:
The dog population in the U.S. will exceed 100 million by 2010;
Federal, state and local governments take the issue of water resource protection as an extremely serious matter;
Fecal coli form contamination from pet waste, accounts for up to 90% of all bacterial watershed pollution in urban areas of the U.S.
The best way to deal with pet waste is to ensure its disposal and treatment the same way we deal with human waste, by utilizing the waste water treatment systems already in place.
Flush It – Don’t Dump It!
2. OK, I get the idea, but why the FlushEze baggie instead of just a simple plastic or paper bag?
Plastic or paper bags, like you’d get from a market or retail store, cannot be flushed into the sanitary sewer because they don’t degrade quickly enough to keep from clogging the system. The FlushEze bag is formulated to be completely water soluble, it won’t clog pipes or sewer lines because it dissolves in water long before it can cause a problem.
3. I use bags that are biodegradable, isn’t that enough?
Some biodegradable bags or products can be helpful by not acting as a pollutant themselves, but they don’t really deal with the actual disposal of pet waste. A biodegradable bag just moves the problem to somewhere else in the treatment chain. Dumping pet waste with your everyday trash, hiring dog waste clean-up services or any disposal process that utilizes composting or enzyme reduction, will not prevent waterborne bacterial contamination as efficiently and cleanly as a sewage or waste water treatment facility. The idea is to process waste, human or animal, before it has a chance to enter the ecosystem.
4. What if I just bury it?
Burying waste only delays the inevitable, since groundwater seepage and/or storm water runoff are the chief culprits in bacterial watershed contamination. Besides, it’s messy, unsanitary and makes for unsightly landscaping.
5. Can the baggies be flushed anywhere? Will they clog my toilet?
The FlushEze baggie can be safely flushed in any standard commode. The bagged waste will not clog the bowl as long as there is adequate water and flushing action during the cycle. This includes RV toilets.
6. Is it just for dogs?
Any type of pet waste can be disposed of with the FlushEze baggie. However, small animal pets are obviously our target market. We suppose it depends on the size of the waste, and the determination of the user.
7. How do I actually get the waste into the bag?
The baggies are designed to be used as you would a glove, by slipping your hand into the bag and grasping the pet waste in hand. By pulling the bag back through itself, you can then safely roll up the bag and flush.
8. What if we’re out walking, or there isn’t a toilet nearby?
We’ve created the PoochPouch carry pack for just this sort of situation. The PoochPouch will carry a box of FlushEze baggies, as well as a used bag in a separate compartment. The PoochPouch provides a safe and sanitary means to transport pet waste, with additional compartments for keys or cell phone.
9. Is the PoochPouch easy to keep clean?
The PoochPouch is made to be completely washable, and can be rinsed and put in the dryer without damage.
10. I really don’t like the idea of getting dog feces on my hands or clothing, and carrying it inside to flush it makes me a little nervous of potential spills.
Considering what it is we’re dealing with here, concerns about the sanitary handling of pet waste are certainly appropriate. This is why the design and fabrication of the FlushEze baggie was so difficult to work out, the size, weight, composition and strength all had to be balanced without compromising the solubility and usefulness of the baggie. And the only way to get it right was with an extended trial and error period in which many different formulas and combinations were tested. Needless to say, there were some significant failures prior to getting things right. Our end product, however, has managed to balance a useful design, with a composition that is both safe and sanitary. If used properly, the FlushEze baggie will provide a leak and spill proof method for proper pet waste disposal.
If you still have concerns about bringing the waste indoors, PetHabitats has a solution for this problem as well, the WasteAway disposal system (see products page.) The WasteAway is a simple and economical flushing system that attaches directly to the clean-out port in any residential or commercial sewer line, using a simple garden hose to provide the water and pressure to flush waste directly into the sewer for disposal and treatment.
11. Is the WasteAway easy to install?
The WasteAway has been designed for simple installation by just about anybody, with simple, easy to follow instructions and plenty of customer support if there’s a problem. For those who prefer to have their WasteAway installed by a plumber or handyman, the cost of the WasteAway is economical enough to keep a professionally installed system at very reasonable levels. |
