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A crappy dog poop bag (pun intended) can turn even a quick jaunt around the block with your pup into a walking nightmare. As anyone who walks dogs knows, having multiple poop bags on your person is essential to ensure you don’t get caught in a messy situation—but the quality of the bag is just as important.
When you’re picking up dog poop, the bag needs to be big enough, sturdy enough, and flexible enough to do the job cleanly every single time. We tested over a dozen poop bags in over 30 hours of research for the guide to dog poop bags, and I’ve been buying our top pick Amazon Basics Standard Dog Poop Bags in bulk since 2020. They have never failed me.
These bags are low-cost, easy to use, and durable, and they come in large enough quantities to make reordering a rarity.
Add 3 to cart, price reflects at checkout
Our top pick from our guide to the best dog poop bags is easy enough to open, big enough to handle most larger messes, and rugged enough that you can easily flip them inside out and knot them to secure the poop inside them without any risk of the bag breaking. That’s it. They do all three things with ease.
“In about 3,000 bags, I’ve had two that tore on me, and that was before I picked up any poop, so I was able to just pull another from my pocket,” says senior editor Grant Clauser, who is such a superfan of the Amazon Basics bags that he has given them as Christmas gifts.
After 30 hours of research and testing, we found that AmazonBasics Dog Waste Bags are the best dog poop bags overall. They’re sturdy, easy to open, and cheap.
Likewise, I’ve occasionally had an issue with the sticker that holds the roll closed. Sometimes when I peel it off, it tears the bag it’s attached to—but I’ve never experienced tearing while I’m in the act of scooping up and securing poop.
When I walk my Buddy, who’s a medium-size dog, I usually bring along a few extra of these 9-by-13-inch-size polyethylene bags in case I run into excrement left behind by less-responsible people. Yes, I will sometimes pick up giant piles of unfamiliar, extra-large dog dumps—I’ve never encountered a poop too big to scoop.
It feels like an absolute waste of resources (both mine and the environment’s) to spend money on bags that are solely intended to be thrown into the trash. I’ve tried several alternatives, however, and they’re all terrible.
As we note in our guide, “The Amazon Basics bags not only separate from the roll easily but are also clearly marked as to which end of the bag opens, so you don’t spend forever fumbling with every possible wrong side before finding the right one.”
In my years of dog-walking experience, I have never had to think about which end to open because it’s marked right there in front of me. And while our guide goes on to say that the bags’ plastic material can make them a little tricky to open, especially in cold or wet weather, I’ve never had that problem.
Despite how inexpensive these bags are (they clock in at about 2¢ a bag, the cheapest of our picks), I admit that I hate having to pay for plastic bags. It feels like an absolute waste of resources (both mine and the environment’s) to spend money on bags that are solely intended to be thrown into the trash. But I’ve tried several alternatives, and they’re all terrible.
I used to buy compostable bags, but they can’t be composted without a commercial composter, and the Environmental Protection Agency considers pet poop to be a pollutant, so attempting to compost on your own isn’t advisable. My local commercial composter also doesn’t take dog waste, so I have no way to compost compostable dog poop bags in my area.
Our review team plans to look deeper into recycled plastics when the guide is updated in the future. However, according to our guide, “If your conscience can’t quite stand using poop bags that don’t even pretend to be remotely kind to the environment, Pets N Bags Dog Waste Bags are a fine way to go. Their material will degrade faster in an oxygenated environment—which landfills are not. Even so, these bags are still just that bit better than ordinary plastic.”
I’ve also used freebie bags provided at well-trafficked dog areas. They are often too thin and flimsy, and there is nothing fun about wiping a poop-smeared hand on the grass before hurrying home for soap and water. I know some people rely on transparent newspaper bags, but as I and other Wirecutter staffers have experienced, they’re so narrow that the poop often doesn’t stay in place when I turn the bag inside out. They’re also clear, which means seeing your furry friend’s feces until you’re able to dispose of the bag properly.
Because the Amazon Basics bags come in quantities of 300, 600, or 900 bags, it’s a rarity for me to run out. A neighbor of mine was walking her dog in front of my house recently when she got caught bagless. “Sadie pooped twice! She never does that!” she called to me from the sidewalk.
I handed her a couple rolls of bags and told her to keep the extras. Having so many bags on hand allows me to look like a kind, generous, and benevolent soul.
The one drawback of these bags is that the included bag dispenser is made of cheap-feeling plastic, with a clip that’s challenging to open and close, making it difficult to affix to the leash.
Instead, I hang mine by the door, and when it's time to walk Buddy, I rip a few bags out of the dispenser and shove them into my pockets —or, because women’s clothes often don't have pockets, into my bra.
My colleague Grant also disregards the plastic dispenser. “I just rip off a few bags before a walk and stuff them in my pocket—every pocket in every coat I own has a couple of these bags in them, so I’m always prepared,” he says. In fact, his foxhound, Emmett, recognizes the sound of the bags being ripped off the roll and enthusiastically comes running to the door when he hears it.
Emmett and I agree: These poop bags make everyone a little more excited about going for a walk.
This article was edited by Rose Maura Lorre and Harry Sawyers.
Annemarie Conte is a deputy editor at Wirecutter. She has written and edited for multiple local and national magazines throughout her career. You can follow her on Instagram.
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Biodegradable Poop Bags Wirecutter is the product recommendation service from The New York Times. Our journalists combine independent research with (occasionally) over-the-top testing so you can make quick and confident buying decisions. Whether it’s finding great products or discovering helpful advice, we’ll help you get it right (the first time).