About Oh Crap
The Mission
Our mission is to eradicate the 4% of landfill that is dog poop wrapped in plastic bags.
Wrapping organic matter in a plastic bag makes no sense, as organic waste inside plastic will never break down. So weâve decided to change that with eco-friendly, non-plastic compostable dog poop bags which break down in just 3 months!
The Oh Crap Story
Oh Crap started in Highton, Victoria back on the 5th January 2014 when our âChief Crapologistâ Bruce Hultgren was walking his rescued dog Brady decided it was time to âdo his businessâ.
As Bruce bent down and executed the âDoggy Yoga Pose - The Downward Dogâ to pick up the âdoggy chocolatesâ he thoughtâŚ
âThere has to be a better wayâ âThis seems like madness, we are destroying the environmentâ.
Bruce has a friend in materials, so texted him to ask if there was anything out there that could help solve the problem. Bruce thought he had a few months before he would have an answer⌠but no his friend was back to him with an answer just 2 hours laterâŚ. Cornstarch.
It took another couple of years for Bruce to perfect the perfect dog poop bag, spending months with his chief tester Brady going on as many walks as possible, and family back and forward to the park and beach. Then it was readyâŚ
The #OhCrapFamily Have Been On Quite A Journey Of Change
30th November 2017 - 500,000 bags saved from landfill
20th March 2019 - 3,000,000 bags saved from landfill
18th September 2019 - 5,000,000 bags saved from landfill
27th May 2020 - 10,000,000 bags saved from landfill
30th July 2021 - 20,000,000 bags saved from landfill
27th January 2022 - 25,000,000 dog poop bags saved from landfill
26th August 2022 - 30,000,000 dog poop bags saved from landfill
& countingâŚ
The Difference The #OhCrapFamily Have Made:
Core Values
Family is at the centre of everything we do. Itâs our two and four legged families who we want to have a better, sustainable life for now & for many generations to come. So we can be in green healthy parkâs, nature and run around on the beaches.
It is central to us that we âMake a differenceâ as individuals and together as the #OhCrapFamily
We are extremely proud to work with the RSPCA across Australia to have changed all of their shelters to using compostable dog poop bags. We are proud to be RSPCAâs preferred dog poop bag supplier.
Support Smart Pupâs in their mission to help change the lives of children through the relationship with a special four legged friend.
Partnershipâs
âMaking a differenceâ has many angles.
Key Facts
âif it's not compostable, it's got plastic in itâ
- Compostable products will degrade to nothing within a specific timeframe of the composting process (see product specs)
- Typically biodegradable products are not considered eco-friendly because they take much longer to break down (up to 1,000 years) and will leave some type of residue. For example the computer you're looking at today is âbiodegradableâ - âit will break down at some pointâ.
- Compostable products have been scientifically tested to break down in the presence of heat, moisture & micro organisms to form compost.
OK compost HOME refers to products that also compost at lower temperatures, so they can go into the compost heap in your garden at home, hence the title "HOME".
Owing to the comparatively smaller volume of waste involved, the temperature in a garden compost heap is clearly lower and less constant than in an industrial composting environment. This is why composting in the garden is a more difficult, slower-paced process.
TĂV AUSTRIAâs innovative answer to this challenge was to develop OK compost HOME to guarantee complete biodegradability in the light of specific requirements, even in your garden compost heap.
OK compost HOME is not based on a standard but is the basis for several standards! It seems important to remember that the OK compost HOME certification programme does not explicitly refer to a specific standard but details all the technical requirements that a product must meet in order to obtain the certification. It is the basis for the drafting of several standards such as: Australia AS 5810
The Home Compostable Verification logo is a symbol that the productâs claims of compostability as per AS 5810-2010 has been verified.
That means a minimum of 90% biodegredation, no toxic effect to compost, plants and earthworms and materials should contain more than 50% organic material.
If a plastic material claims to be compostable in Australia, it must comply with Australian standard AS 4736â2006. This standard provides assessment criteria for plastic materials that are to be biodegraded in municipal and commercial aerobic composting facilities. This Australian standard is similar to the widely known European EN 13432 standard, but has an additional requirement of a worm test. In order to comply with the AS 4736â2006, plastic materials need to meet the following requirements:
- minimum of 90% biodegradation of plastic materials within 180 days in compost,
- minimum of 90% of plastic materials should disintegrate into less than 2mm pieces in compost within 12 weeks,
- no toxic effect of the resulting compost on plants and earthworms,
- hazardous substances such as heavy metals should not be present above the maximum allowed levels,
- plastic materials should contain more than 50% organic materials.
The Australian Bioplastics Association (ABA) leverages a thirdâparty verification system to assist manufacturers, distributors and retailers to communicate their compliance to this standard hence verify product quality with respect to biodegradability claims.
Fun Fact:
âThe pawâs in our logo, is the position our furry friends get in to when they are doing their businessâ
