Paul Cannella Makes Money From Poop Plastic Bags

There is, indeed, treasure in trash. For Paul Cannella, founder of PoopBags.com, the treasure came in the form of disposable and biodegradable plastic bags for dog poop.

Like many dog owners, Cannella struggled with the issue of finding plastic bags in which to wrap up his pet's poop especially in public areas. Aside from the inconvenience of using any and all types of plastic bags, there was also the concern for the environment's welfare - he discovered via research that the plastic bags he had been using can pollute landfills for up to 1,000 years.

It was not exactly a good trade-off: Cleaning up public areas of dog poop while polluting the Earth.

Cannella then set about finding a more eco-friendly option to the usual plastic bags. He eventually worked with a Norwegian manufacturer in the development of a biodegradable plastic film with the right qualities - silky in texture yet durable in construction as well as made from biodegradable materials.

In 2003, he also bought PoopBags.com from a cybersquatter for $800 and then launched his website. And thus was his dream of providing his fellow pet owners a more eco-friendly plastic bag for poop started.

His business has been growing ever since from a $300 sale in October 2003, which increased to $30,000 in 2004, and then $90,000 in 2005 with stable increases to this day. This is a business that seems to be on the up and up considering three factors:

• Increasing awareness among dog owners about their environmental impact when picking up dog poop using plastic bags;
• Rising numbers of dog owners; and
• Improving attitude among government agencies regarding the matter, such as the passing of ordinance banning the use of plastic bags among retailers. (Note: Like many pet owners, Cannella relied on retailers for their supply of plastic bags for picking up poop)

We may see Cannella dominating the market for poop bags, thus, proving that there is profit in poop, too.