The 9 Best Dog Poop Bags Tested By Picking Up After Real Dogs

Best Overall

Earth Rated Poop Bags

$14 at Amazon $14 at Chewy $24 at Walmart

Earth Rated Poop Bags are leakproof and durable enough to safely transport waste, with a 9 by 13-inch size that's suitable for any size doggie dump, long enough to easily tie off, and will fit most dog poop bag dispensers. They're also made of 65% post-consumer recycled plastic—one of several eco-friendly qualities that make Earth Rated's bags our overall favorite.

During weeks of testing with a dachshund mix, Earth Rated poop bags performed reliably, with a thin, yet durable texture, thanks to their 15-micron thickness. The green bags are also opaque enough that you won't spend your walk staring at poop. The dog bags are available in a variety of refill sizes, with packs of 60, 120, 270, 315, and 900 bags available. There's also a lavender-scented version, but it's a little strong, so we recommend it only for the true lavender fan.

Plastic dog poop bags may not be very environmentally friendly, but Earth Rated estimates the recycled content in their bags accounts for 5 million pounds of plastic annually. Earth Rated is also a Certified B Corporation, which means it's been independently audited for environmental and workplace standards. Earth Rated also makes donations to a wide variety of animal rescues and sustainability initiatives.

The main weakness we noticed during testing is that Earth Rated Poop Bags can be tricky to open, especially if you're wearing gloves. To more easily open dog poop bags, try pinching the top and rubbing your fingers apart to separate the two sides of the opening.

Earth Rated also makes certified compostable poop bags, though this won't be useful unless you have a municipal composting facility nearby that can take them (these facilities are not very common). For more on compostable poop bags, check out our "Best Compostable" pick and the What to Look For section.

_{Size: 9 x 13 inches | Material: 65% post-consumer recycled plastic | Color: Green}

Best Compostable

Unni Pet Waste Bags

$18 at Amazon $13 at Walmart View on Unni.world

We tested several bags made from bioplastics—which are derived from sustainable plant oils (in this case, corn), instead of fossil fuels—and our favorite was the Unni 100% Compostable Extra Thick Pet Waste Bags.

Unni dog poop bags feel softer than polyethylene poop bags, though we found them just as durable. Each bag is a useful 9 by 13 inches—a relatively standardized design compatible with most dog poop bag holders—and 0.8 millimeters thick, which is thick enough that it feels like there's a meaningful separation between you and your dog's poop.

They're also straightforward to use, with consistent and easy-to-tear perforations between bags. They were a little harder to open than some dog poop bags we tested, and we had to take off gloves to open a bag during several walks with our volunteer English setter mix and mini Goldendoodle.

Unlike many other compostable bags with similar claims to sustainability, you're not paying an immense premium for Unni bags, though they are more expensive than some of the big-name bulk packages.

Of course, the headline feature of the Unni Pet Waste Bags is that they are compostable. They are about as verifiably compostable as you can get, adhering to the U.S. compostable standard ASTM D6400 and various European standards, including Austria's rigorous OK Compost Home, indicating that an Unni bag will biodegrade in home compost.

While it's possible to home compost dog waste, the risks of spreading bacteria are high enough that it should only be done by experienced composters—a high-heat compost, for example, can be particularly useful for sanitizing dog waste. Because of the risk of spreading bacteria, dog waste compost should not be used on food gardens.

Most people aren't able to compost their own dog waste and won't have a municipal facility nearby for drop-off. To biodegrade, bioplastic bags typically need oxygen and heat, and so are unlikely to degrade in a landfill. However, you will still be avoiding fossil fuel-derived plastics by using Unni bags.

The only downside we found to the non-ethylene dog bags is that they can degrade and start sticking together if left stored too long (in as little as a year), so it's best not to buy in bulk.

_{Size: 9 x 13 inches | Material: Corn and plant starch-based plastic | Color: Green}

Best Bulk Buy

Amazon Basics Dog Poop Bags

$16 at Amazon

Amazon Basics Dog Poop Bags are made from polyethylene—standard, petroleum-derived plastic—so there's no environmentally-friendly mitigation with these bags. Instead, these are straightforwardly useful, standard poop bags, with the 9 by 13-inch size common to so many dispensers, and are sturdy, able to handle larger loads.

The main advantage is their low price and bulk availability, with packages of 300, 600, and 900 bags available that tear easily from the roll. The 900-bagger comes with 60 15-bag rolls. Each roll is coreless, slightly cutting down on waste. A poop bag dispenser is included. While nice, most dog owners already have one of these on hand.

Amazon Basic poop bags are available in four scents—Brazilian mango, cucumber, lavender, and talcum powder. The smells are subtle enough, but since there's no fully covering poop smells, we preferred the unscented bags.

_{Size: 9 x 13 inches | Material: Polyethylene plastic | Color: Green}

Best With Handles

Pogi's Poop Bags

$16 at Amazon $16 at Chewy $16 at Walmart

Pogi's Earth Friendly Poop Bag brings closure to your dog's number two with two handles to tidy up and get on with your walk.

These bags do not come in a roll for use with a leash attachment carrier, but the cardboard dispenser box makes it easy to select one bag at a time and also contains a cardboard core that can be recycled. For transport during a walk, we found it convenient to loosely tie a bag around the handle of the leash before and after picking up poop. The plastic bags are sturdy, easy to open, and offer sufficient space for picking up after larger dogs.

The bags are available with or without a powder fresh scent. We found the scent to be strong but not overpowering and it did help to mask the smell of poop. The bags we tested are made with recyclable plastic, but Pogi's Earth Friendly also offers compostable poop bags with handles that are ASTM International certified.

_{Size: 7 x 14.5 inches | Material: Recyclable plastic | Color: Green}

Best Scented

Arm & Hammer Waste Bags

$10 at Amazon $10 at Chewy $11 at Walmart

The Arm & Hammer Fresh Scent Waste Bags have a fragrance paired with activated baking soda to neutralize odors. We found the fresh scent to be an appealing aroma that isn't too powerful, and these plastic bags were our top performer when it came to hiding the smell of dog poop.

The plastic bags are strong and durable, but slightly see-through so there is no mistaking what is inside. The bags provide a dependable layer of protection when picking up poop and stay intact even when used on rough and pointy surfaces, like concrete and grass. They were easy to tie up after picking up poop, too. Each roll has a cardboard core which will ultimately end up in the trash, and we found the bags to be more difficult than others to separate from the roll.

_{Size: 9 x 14 inches | Material: Plastic | Color: Blue, green}

Best for Big Dogs

GoGo Stik Heavy Dootie Bags

$20 at Amazon

If you have a big dog or are picking up after more than one dog at a time, the GoGo Stik Heavy Dootie Bags offer the most capacity and are made with thick plastic to support the weight.

With one extra-large bag designed to hold over two pounds per clean-up session, we had room for all the poop our participating Shiba Inu and husky mix placed in our way. Each bag features a five-inch gusset for space and two handles which make them easy to open and close by tying them together. The bags are folded in a recyclable cardboard box that dispenses one at a time, similar to a box of tissues, so these poop bags are not compatible with a leash attachment carrier.

_{Size: 18 x 11 x 5 inches (extra large) | Material: Plastic made from cornstarch and high density polyurethane | Color: Gray}

Best Premium

Wild One Dog Poop Bags

$15 at Chewy $15 at PETCO

The blush-colored Poop Bags from Wild One are thick and strong but soft to the touch. The plastic parcels for poop are made with cornstarch and designed to deteriorate along with the organic matter placed inside. The bags are easy to tie once the poop is inside and the accompanying poop-pourri is also contained. 

The bags are easy to separate from the roll and simple to open with fingers. The plastic material holds up when used to scoop poop on outdoor surfaces and remains intact, even up against long nails. Each roll fits inside any standard poop bag dispenser, but if you purchase the Wild One Poop Carrier, an unscented roll will be inside and ready for use. 

_{Size: 9 x 13 inches | Material: Cornstarch blend plastic | Color: Blush}

Best Paper

Pooch Paper Dog Waste Sheet

$34 at Amazon View on Petsuppliesplus.com View on Poochpaper.com

Pooch Paper Biodegradable Dog Waste Sheets are disposable squares made out of recycled paper fiber. An alternative to bags, these sheets are 100 percent plastic-free and free of PFAS, which stands for per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, commonly referred to as "forever chemicals" because the manmade substances do not break down over time.

Each individual sheet protects a hand while picking up poop, similar to using a paper towel. Once your dog's deposit has been retrieved, the four corners can be twisted together to form a pouch. These tan-colored sheets are coated with a corn-based substance to keep the grease from your dog’s latest masterpiece away from your hands. Depending on the tightness of your twist and the size and solidness of your dog's load, the security of the DIY pouch wavers so we recommend disposing of it as quickly as possible to avoid a mess.

The unscented sheets come in two sizes, 12 x 12 inches or 14 x 14 inches. We recommend the smaller size for puppies and very small dogs. To clean up after larger dogs, more than one sheet may be needed. The sheets do not fit in a traditional leash attachment carrier, but you can put a sheet or two in your pocket before you head out, or try the Pooch Pouch designed by the creators of Pooch Paper.

_{Size: 12 x 12 inches (regular); 14 x 14 inches (large) | Material: Recycled, unbleached paper | Color: Tan}

A Sustainable Bulk Option

Greener Walker Poop Bags

$17 at Amazon $35 at Walmart View on Greenerwalker.com

Green Walker Poop Bags are bundled and sold in super value packs containing 36 rolls with 540 unscented bags to last you and your pup several months. To streamline your dog walking excursions, the bags are conveniently rolled up into groups of 15 and each roll fits into most standard-size leash dispensers.

The bags are made with recycled materials and consist of a blend of polyethylene and cornstarch, making them a bit more friendly for the environment. Each bag measures 9 by 13 inches which is adequate for collecting a pet waste session or two of most dogs. The bags come in three colors: green, brown, and dark green, and while testing we found the bags to be easy to separate from the roll and open. However, they are rather thin, so unintentionally puncturing a hole is not out of the question.

^{Size: 13 x 9 inches | Material: Recycled polyethylene, cornstarch | Color: Green, brown, dark green}