Dog Park Promotes Green Waste Disposal

Dog poop isn't the only thing that's biodegradable at one North Side dog park.

Puptown in Uptown's Margate Park is now home to three artsy-looking doggie waste-bag dispensers, stocked with biodegradable bags.

The volunteers who donated a year's supply of biodegradable bags want dog owners to stop using plastic grocery bags -- which take centuries to decompose -- and try the eco-friendly bags made from corn.

"This is part of a long campaign of re-education to get people to realize those shopping bags are not for dog waste," said John Lenti, a Puptown volunteer.

The 12,000 bags were donated by Mike Schultz, who runs the Web site zoomagreen.org and Green Paws Chicago, an eco-friendly dog-walking service. The dispensers are courtesy of artists from Gallery B1E in Rogers Park.

Schultz hopes the Chicago Park District will help the project expand to other city dog parks.

"Our work is not done," he said. "Hopefully, by the end of the fall, we'll have all the dog parks covered."

[Source: Chicago Sun-Times]