Living an Eco Friendly Life with our Pets

Pets...we can’t live without them and we unfortunately can’t really live a 100% eco-friendly life with them. But, we do the best we can.

One of our favorite low waste swaps we have made is a reusable lint roller. We use this thing to pull pet hair off clothes, our carpeted stairs, and our guinea pig’s fleece bedding. Oh it also is amazing for pulling dog hair out of car seats! We were surprised at how well it works! No more having to buy lint rollers and ripping off the paper just to throw them away. Over time this thing pays for itself. Also, bonus eco-friendly points for being able to compost all the fur it pulls out - this adds nitrogen to your heap!

We’ll go out on a limb here and say guinea pigs (and likely most herbivorous rodent pets, but we have a guinea pig) are the closest thing to a zero waste pet you can have. Like we mentioned above, we use washable fleece bedding and compost the fur. We give her bits of veggies and fruits when cooking, and whatever she leaves behind goes into the compost bin. We also compost all the things that come out of her cage when cleaning it - spilled hay and food, droppings, and any bits left from wooden toys she has. We have actually made a separate vermicomposting bin we keep next to her cage specifically for guinea pig things. And seriously - this is some nutrient rich compost! 

In terms of our dog’s waste, we currently use biodegradable bags. We also use plastic bags we have inevitably (because nobody is perfect!) obtained such as tortilla bags, bags from grocery store produce (thanks, COVID), etc. Though you still throw it away, at least the bag is now a double use bag opposed to a single use. Perhaps if we had our own house with a lawn, we could use a scoop or bamboo tissue and flush it down the toilet, alas we currently live in the city and don’t have a yard of our own.

We also have two small aquariums. Though aquariums are probably not the most eco-friendly hobby due to the water usage, it's still a hobby we enjoy and try to make as eco friendly as possible. When we change the water, because we use a limited amount of chemicals in our tank, we use that water for our houseplants (never on something edible like herbs or our vegetable plants). So far, our plants are not only alive, but thriving! 

What do you do to live a more sustainable life with pets?