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How to Dispose of Cat Litter: The Ultimate Guide to Eco-Friendly Pet Waste Management (Part 1)
When it comes to loving our pets, responsible pet owners know that a big part of that love is dealing with their waste. It is what it is. There are, of course, many ways to deal with pet waste, some of which are astoundingly wasteful. For instance, have you seen those litter box subscriptions? An entire litter pan with litter shipped to your home and then you just bag up your old one and toss it. Erm. That’s a whole lotta packaging and fossil fuel used when you can simply… scoop? There are also chemical litters and robotic litter boxes and sprays and the list goes on. TheZeroWastePet.com is a…
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The Ultimate Guide to Becoming a Zero-Waste Pet Parent
You’ve probably heard the saying, you can’t pour from an empty cup. It’s usually used when someone’s neglecting themselves to take care of everyone and everything else. Unless you take care of you first, fill your cup first, you have nothing left to give. That concept applies to living a low-waste or zero-waste lifestyle. Unless you’re taking care of your needs and still enjoying your life–rather than living a panicked, ascetic existence–you need to take care of you before you can impact anyone else. And that’s what this post is about! Every swap you make impacts your pets’ lives, so why not make good, responsible, self-loving decisions? I’ve outlined a…
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The Complete Guide to Zero-Waste Pet Food
Whether you’re a zero-waste newbie or a no-trash pro, when it comes to pet care, there’s very little helpful, non-judgey info out there. Especially when it comes to pet food. Pet food is a real sticking point with living a low-waste lifestyle. In my research, I’ve encountered lots of well-meaning folks who suggest the solution is to have a vegetarian pet like a rabbit or guinea pig rather than a meat-eating one like a dog or cat. In fact, in a scholarly paper published as recently as the summer of 2017, the authors concluded their abstract with (emphasis mine): “Americans are the largest pet owners in the world, but the…
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The Beginner’s Guide to Zero-Waste Pet Care
While no two pet people are alike, we all share at least one big thing in common: our love and devotion to our pets! For those of us pet people who are also interested in learning more about lessening our impact on the planet, it makes sense to think through how to involve our beloved pets in those efforts. We want to do better! And, if you’re like me, you’ve probably taken a ton of amazing steps already: carrying reusable shopping bags, walking or biking instead of driving when you can, recycling, and so on. You should feel proud of those efforts! Every single step, no matter how small it…
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Welcome to The Zero-Waste Pet!
Hello, friends! I am so glad you’re here! This website has been a long, long time in the making. Let me introduce myself: My name is Maggie, and I’m the dog-crazy cat lady behind the keyboard. I’ve written a blog about mostly dogs and a smidge of cats at OhMyDogBlog.com for more than 10 years. That’s ancient in blog-world. Animals, particularly dogs, have been a part of my life forever. When I was a precocious kiddo at St. Ann’s School, I wrote a play about recycling that the nuns let me stage with the other kids in my class. Since then, I’ve been passionate about eco-friendly living. Now, I’ve combined the…