Local resident frustrated after making upsetting discovery while walking through beloved park: 'I honestly don't understand people who do this'

Discarded dog poop bags can be a big problem, as one local recently highlighted after walking through a park in Pennsylvania.

Posting on the subreddit r/philadelphia, they shared six images of discarded used dog poop bags that they had found on the trail while walking in Valley Forge National Historical Park.

"Please …. pick up after your dog and dispose of it properly!" the user wrote in their post after explaining that the bags they had removed were just a small sample of what had been left behind in the park.

Disposing of bags of dog poop improperly is both an environmental and public health issue. Dog poop bags are made of plastics that can take hundreds of years to decompose. As they degrade, they shed microplastics into the environment, which can harm wildlife and potentially contaminate water sources.

Microplastics have been found in some of the remotest locations on Earth and inside the human body, where they have been linked to various health issues.

The bags are also unsightly and create a sense of litter while also posing a danger to public health due to bacteria and parasites that can be found in the poop.

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Being an irresponsible dog owner and leaving bags of dog poop behind gives dog owners a bad name, resulting in dogs often being banned from public areas. It can also prevent people from visiting parks and nature reserves and enjoying the peace and connection with nature that these places bring.

Preserving these areas is important for people's health and the health of the planet. The best way to do this is to ensure you dispose of all your litter correctly.

Commenters were disgusted by the original poster's discovery.

"I honestly don't understand people who do this," one person wrote.