Did you know that a survey in 2019 showed that just over 50% of all UK adults owned a pet?
Since lockdown, there has been a 25% rise in dog ownership alone.
This means there are upwards of 20.8 million pets in the UK and a staggering quarter of a billion worldwide.
Our pets are lovely.
They become beloved family members and part of the home, but just like every other family member, your pet comes with a footprint (or pawprint in this case).
From the food that they eat to the toys that they play with and the poop you have to scoop, all pet-related products tend to have a high footprint due to low cost and mass production.
Pets are also generally meat-eaters and we know that a meat-based diet usually has a higher footprint than that of a plant-based diet.
With 20.8 million dogs and cats consuming one tin or unrecyclable plastic package of food per day, the results are 7.6 billion containers being manufactured every year, just for the UK.
If you add to this, another 3.6 billion plastic bags for picking up the estimated 1.2 million tons of dog poop.
Then there is the issue of disposing of two hundred thousand tons of cat waste.
In general, ‘clumping’ cat-litter is made from bentonite clay, which is an unrecyclable mineral mined using open-cast strip mining, which removes trees and soils to get at the clay.
So, what can you do to lower the footprint of your pets?
Terracyle now has a new recycling initiative for pet food plastic packaging so you can reduce your pet’s footprint.
You can also switch out nasty plastic poop bags for biodegradable or home compostable alternatives.
Companies are now producing innovative pet food solutions such as insect-based protein rich meat alternatives which are proving to be a healthy and sustainable alternative.
Pet’s love to play with new objects, so rather than buying a toy, you can give a dog things like a cardboard toilet roll (after the paper is finished unless it’s for a tv ad) and they will often play for hours with it.
You could also consider, when buying a bowl or a toy for your pet, making sure it isn’t made from plastic.
There are lots of businesses selling bowls and toys made from sustainable materials to lower your pet’s pawprint without lowering its happiness.
One of our favourite suppliers of sustainable pet food, accessories and toys is Beco Pets.
The team at Beco Pets are actively helping pet owners lower their pawprint by providing innovative pet products that are better for the planet.
They only work with suppliers that do the same and all their food products are ethically and sustainably sourced.
From natural rubber toys to bamboo bowls, Beco offers great service, transparency and have been helping make pet ownership more sustainable since 2009.
Lowering your pet’s footprint has never been easier and to celebrate this week’s sustainability tip, you can take advantage of a whopping 30% discount on the Beco Website!
Simply use the voucher code SAM at checkout and your discount will automatically be applied.
‘I was always conscious of my two dogs adding to the family footprint.
That’s why we added the option to offset your pet when you sign up to Play It Green as a family.
With the rise in sustainable pet products, you can now take a journey to lower your pet’s pawprint.
I love the innovation we are seeing from companies like Beco Pets, helping everyone on the next step to a more sustainable future.’
Richard Dickson – Co-Founder, Play It Green.
If you want to offset your footprint along with the pawprint of your pet, please do join Play It Green. It only takes two minutes and your impact will last for lifetimes.
