Sustainable Pet Ownership

It feels as though everyone is trying to do their bit to help look after our planet, so what can we do as pet owners to ensure that we protect the planet and make sustainable choices as often as possible?

Here are six top tips for sustainable pet ownership:

1. Buy in bulk - buying bigger bags of pet food reduces the use of plastic packaging. Remember that you can recycle your soft plastics (dry pet food bags) at participating supermarkets. If your pet gets wet food, recycle the aluminium tins (remember wash them out and remove the label before putting them in the recycling bin).

2. Deal with poo properly - keep it out of our fragile waterways (reducing potential contamination) by always picking up your dog’s poo. ALWAYS use a biodegradable dog poo bag as this will ensure the poo and the bag will break down.

3. Choose responsibly made pet toys and pet bedding - choose well made products such as good quality bedding, collars and leads. Invest in a product that will last longer and won’t just end up in landfill in a few months. Use recycled paper cat litter in the litter tray too!

Try up cycling household items into toys for your pets! Old t-shirts can be cut into strips an plaited or knotted tightly together to create a chew toy (please always supervise your pet with toys like this so they do not ingest them.) Put some treats or your pets dinner into an empty egg carton and gently tape it shut, your pet will use lots of mental and physical energy trying to get their treats or dinner.

4. Adopt a pet - save a life! This is a no-brainer when it comes to caring about pets and making sustainable choices for the planet.

5. Protect our wildlife - our wildlife is precious. Keep cats inside from dusk to dawn and place a bell on their collar when they are outside. Keep dogs leashed and under control at all times unless they are in a designated off leash area.

6. Say no to EFTpos and printed receipts! I feel like I give out 100 EFT receipts a day sometimes and recently it was brought to my attention that they are NOT recyclable! All purchases are recorded on our bank statements and we will always have an electronic invoiced receipt for you if you would like a copy.