Frustrated hiker shares upsetting photo taken along trail: 'People have no respect'

Talk about an eyesore, and a stinky one at that. A hiking Redditor took a perilously close shot of a yellow dog poop bag left in nature.

The Redditor shared the photo to the r/mildlyinfuriating subreddit, and expressed frustration with "people who leave their dog's poop bags next to the trail expecting other hikers to carry them to the trash."

"Unfortunately, I see this all the time" — Photo Credit: Reddit

One user noted that owners might claim to be leaving it for a reason besides simple littering and laziness. They said they were "surprised they aren't hanging from a tree," so the owners could "claim it's because they're coming back past this way and will pick them up."

Lest you think we should give the benefit of the doubt, the user noted "they never do," and that the resulting scene resembled a "dirty protest against Christmas with all these colourful bags hanging from the trees."

Unfortunately, that experience seems to be the norm based on past incidents, which show that many owners apparently forget or never intended to come back. It's an unpleasant violation of the "Leave No Trace" principle. Dog waste is a huge problem, as dogs create over 10.6 million tons of it, and U.S. owners use over 415 million bags annually, per a study published in the Environmental Pollution journal.

That's not to say that letting your dog's poop stand is great, either. It contains parasites and bacteria that are bad for the local ecosystem and humans, as the Washington Post detailed. Leaving plastic waste is no better as it has harmful microplastics that can leak into the soil and groundwater, or pose dangers to wildlife. It's also, as the original poster alludes to, not going anywhere unless a good samaritan picks it up.

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For owners who want to handle the situation more responsibly, options like compostable poop bags provide a more eco-friendly option. Attachments to leashes can allow dog owners to carry the poop away from their bodies and stuff, and avoid leaving poop behind. Even if owners are diligent about circling back to the dog's dirty work, it's an inconsiderate move that takes away from some of the pleasantness of a journey into nature.

Redditors were frustrated just like the original poster.

"This is some nice picture of the dog poop bag in its environment," a commenter sarcastically quipped.