Reduce your pet's waste

Pets come in all different shapes and sizes, but let's focus on the two most common pets: cats and dogs.

Recycle pet food packaging

Your furry friend can eat a lot, leaving you with plenty of pet food packaging to deal with. While soft plastics aren't recyclable in your kerbside collection, there's a solution. Animates has teamed up with TerraCycle to create the Royal Canin Recycling Program. Head to your local Animates store or Animates Vetcare clinic and empty your packaging into their collection box. They accept:

• Wet cat and dog food pouches
• Dry cat and dog food bags
• Soft plastic treat bags
• All pouches and bags must be clean and dry

Buy in bulk

Buying pet food, treats, and cat litter in bulk reduces the amount of single-use packaging and can save you money. It also reduces your trips to the supermarket, lowering your carbon footprint. Fewer individual packages mean less waste overall, making it a more economical and eco-friendly choice.

Choose natural textiles

In a world filled with plastic and polyester, opt for pet toys and bedding made from natural fibres such as cotton, bamboo, and hemp. These materials are better for the environment and healthier for your pets, who would likely prefer not to chew on microplastics.

Buy your pet food locally

There are many excellent New Zealand-grown pet food brands, but buying local is even better. Visit your local butcher for dog treats or grow your own catnip. The less distance your pet food has to travel, the better for the environment.

Manage pet waste responsibly

Never flush pet waste down the toilet. Flushing animal waste can negatively impact wastewater treatment systems, including:

• Increased biological load: Animal waste can overload treatment plants, which are designed primarily for human waste.
• Pathogens: Animal waste introduces different pathogens that may require additional treatment.
• Chemical imbalances: High nitrogen and phosphorus levels in animal waste can disrupt treatment processes.
• Solid Waste Management: Increased animal faeces can lead to higher sedimentation and sludge production.
• Environmental impact: Inefficiently treated wastewater can pollute natural bodies of water, posing health risks to wildlife and humans.

Explore natural cat litter options. Choose cat litters made from plant-based materials such as paper, bamboo, or wood pellets.

Compost pet poo at home

Animal poo and natural, plant-based cat litter can be placed in the rubbish bin or composted at home. Properly composting pet poo (dog, cat, rabbit and guinea pig poo) at home can be a great way to reduce your pet's environmental impact. Please note that pet poo should be composted in a separate system from your normal home compost.
For more information on composting pet waste, visit the compostable packaging page of the One Planet website. 

Note that clay and silica-based cat litter cannot be composted. These products need to be disposed of in the rubbish bin.