Survey Shows Pet Owners are More Eco-Friendly

Are you more green because of your pet? Are you an environmentally friendly pet owner? If so, maybe it’s because of the litter you see around your neighborhood while you’re taking Fido for a walk. Perhaps this has inspired you to make some eco-friendly changes. Perhaps  it’s because you feel it is important for your pet to live on a healthy planet since after all, he is practically like your child. According to a survey taken by Purina’s Together We Can campaign, this may all be true.  The survey suggests that if you own a cat or dog there is a high chance you care more about the environment than someone that does not own a pet.

To be clear this survey only focused on Purina product users and mainly took into account recycling habits. Even so, it is pretty telling and deserves a closer look. The survey revealed that 88% of the participants recycle household waste often or always. If you compare those figures to a 2009 Harris interactive study that showed only 68% of people recycled often or always it tells us that perhaps owning a pet is what made the difference. In addition, 30% of the people said they recycle purely because of their pet.

Recycling paper and cardboard seemed to get high numbers in the survey with 95% of pet owners saying they do so. When compared to a survey taken by the Paper Industry Association Council, data revealed that just over two thirds of paper was recycled in the U.S. Therefore, owning a pet points to living a more eco friendly lifestyle.

The survey also showed that two thirds of the pet owners use low energy light bulbs and 43% use energy efficient appliances.  Once again, Fido and Sassy may be the determining factor on strengthening people’s green habits.

The Purina survey also highlights the growing realization that people are willing to change their habits in order to preserve the earth for the greater good of humanity, and their pets.  Moreover, 72% of people surveyed said they consider their animals like a family member. The campaign was launched with the intention to encourage pet owners to start recycling their dog and cat food steel cans. This was prompted by the surprisingly low amount of people that recycle their pet food cans at only 74% compared to 89% that recycle other can items like drinks and food.

Antal Van Hout, Regional Marketing Director at Purina, said: “Our new research has shown that when cat and dog owners think about the environment’s future, around one quarter of them (28.7%) have considered how it might impact their pet.”

The Together We Can campaign touts that recycling one can of dog or cat food would save enough energy to power a 30-inch TV for two hours.  Purina is doing a great thing by raising awareness about recycling and address a particular area where people may be slacking in regards to recycling. All you have to do is wash out the tin can of pet food bits and it’s sanitary enough to be recycled. If you want to calculate how much energy you can save and earn a Purina recycling badge click here. 

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