Eighty-nine point seven million. That’s how many dogs live in the United States, according to the 2017 APPA National Pet Owners Survey. Each of these said dogs produces, on average, 275 pounds of poop each year. Some quick arithmetic tells us that we have a major waste problem, 24.7 billion pounds a year, to be exact.

Now that we’ve established that our dogs produce enough crap to outweigh the Washington monument, 152 times, we need to do something about it.

Currently, pickup and disposal methods are lacking, or simply not happening at all. When dog waste is left in the park or on the sidewalk, it is detrimental to the environment. It washes into the water supply, polluting rivers, streams, and other local waterways. Another major issue, especially in cities, is that dog waste becomes a leading food source for rats, which are linked to a number of diseases that can easily be passed to humans.

When responsible dog owners do pick up their dog’s waste, what happens next? They’re either using plastic, biodegradable, or compostable bags, none of which are ideal. Plastic bags are not  environmentally sustainable, biodegradable bags stay in landfills for extended periods of time, and compostable bags still require the dog owner to come in direct contact with the dog waste. The ideal solution is one that is easy, refined and eco-friendly. Curbicus, a patent pending technology that eliminates the “gross factor” when handling dog waste, is all of these things.

With the signs of climate change becoming stronger year by year and day by day, it is clear that we need to make our planet a priority. Nobody really thinks about dog waste when they think about how to combat climate change, but it is a huge issue. Many people have the mentality that if they do not pick up after their dog just once, there will be no impact, which is slightly true. Everybody can make an impact. If one person leaves one pile of poop behind, it seems like a small impact. However, when almost every urban pet parent leaves just one pile of poop behind, a huge issue arises–and the reality is far crappier. This is why technology that can address these issues is necessary to keep both dog owners and city dwellers, as well as the environment, happy. Cubicus is that technology. It’s easy to carry, easy to use, and will solve the dog waste dilemma, one poop at a time.