I'm planning a trip for this May and hoping to bring my dog for the first time. I'd like to follow all the rules and leave no trace. I'm wondering if it's ok to use compostable/biodegradable dog waste bags in latrines?

I bought some compostable bags for our compost bucket we keep under our kitchen sink.

Every couple of days I would take that bag out to the compost pile out back. The next year I went to turn over the compost and everything was nice dirt but all those bags were still there.

With that, I assume those compostable bags eventually deteriorate but I think it still take a long time.

You will get a lot of opinions here based on your question. And your question is very valid. Do campers want your dog poop buried in the woods or left in a latrine?

I would prefer it gets left in the latrine without the bag. Otherwise future campers will assume it’s a garbage bag and get all mad.

You can’t win I guess.
Tom

I do not think dog poop bags marketed as compostable are any where near as compostable as the sellers would like to think.

After my first one or two trips with my first dog, I was picking up my permit at a ranger station and in my little chat/quiz with the ranger mentioned that I used biodegradable poop bags and tossed the in the latrine. He clearly asked me not to do that, and mentioned they do not degrade as fast as people think. Since then (perhaps 12 dog trips), I leave the poop bags in the car. Instead, I find a bit of bark and a stick and scoop it up, walk it to the latrine and dump it in, then dispose of the bark and stick further back where no one will likely pick it up. If I am away from a campsite, I'll just walk it back away from a portage and any water source, find a low spot and dig down or cover it up so the next rain will not wash any of it toward water. Dog poop has a lot of nitrogen in it, which is important to keep out of the water.

Not sure if you are aware, but there is a special forum for people bringing their dogs along on paddling trips. It's not really active, but there is still some good info there. Check out Doggie Paddle

If you're really diligent just use bags for pick up, carry them to the next camp, then open them and drop the turds into the latrine. And pack the bags out in some sort of odor proof zip lock with your trash bag.

I agree with tom that bags in the latrine don't seem like a great practice.

I think there are folks who probably just dig a small hole, push the turds into it with a stick, and call it good. I am ok with that, personally. Nature will process it. Some might object.

It does seem the official rules allow for burial

"Dispose of dog waste 200 feet from water, campsites, portages, or put it in a latrine."

I bring dogs on every trip. I have a lightweight backpacking trowel that I use in camp to pick up the poop and carry it to the latrine when in the BWCA. In places without a latrine, I use the trowel to dig a hole to bury the poop. I keep the trowel in a small reusable plastic bag in case it gets poop remnants on it. I never bring pickup bags unless I’m on the SHT or other places that require dog poop to be packed out.

No.

“Compostable” dog poop bags are made of plastic. See below, cut and pasted from BWCA regulations .

“Wilderness latrines are not garbage cans and should be used for the intended purpose only. Personal waste items such as cigarettes, cotton swabs, grease, wipes, paper towels, bandages, diapers, condoms, plastic baggies and female products (tampons, pads and applicators), should always be packed out and never go into the latrines.”

A couple years back I found an unused compostable dog waste bag floating near the end of a remote portage in Quetico. Had been there at least a season. Packed it out and used it for my dog a few weeks later as it showed zero sign of composting itself.

The problem with compostable bags is that they are designed to breakdown in very specific industrial or well managed home compost systems. They are not designed to breakdown in a natural setting, such as burying it in the woods or in the latrine. They are still mostly plastic with a percentage of plant-based fibers making up the bag.