Pet Food Industry Tackles Plastic Waste with Earth Animal's Plastic Neutral Initiative
The pet food industry is facing a significant environmental challenge. Only 1% of pet food packaging is recycled, with the vast majority ending up in landfills or oceans. This amounts to an estimated 300 million pounds of plastic waste annually in the US alone. However, a beacon of hope emerges as Earth Animal, a pet health and wellness company, becomes a Plastic Neutral brand through a partnership with rePurpose Global.
Earth Animal's initiative is part of a broader effort involving 20 pet food brands from the US, Canada, and New Zealand. Together, they have recovered 2,000 tons of plastic waste, equivalent to 111 million plastic bottles or 1 billion plastic bags. This collective action addresses the Pet Sustainability Coalition's identification of packaging pollution as one of the industry's greatest environmental challenges.
The partnerships create a positive impact beyond waste reduction. They generate income streams for 4,594 waste workers and expand waste collection in areas with limited infrastructure. Earth Animal has also implemented a return to retail recycling program called FlexForward and offsets its supply chain's plastic impact. rePurpose Global, with 230 brand partners across 26 countries, removes 14 million pounds of plastic from nature yearly and positively impacts 10,000+ waste workers and their families. Through these partnerships, rePurpose Global is financing plastic waste recovery in Colombia, Indonesia, Kenya, and India.
The pet food industry's plastic waste problem is substantial, but the collaborative efforts of companies like Earth Animal and rePurpose Global offer a promising solution. By recovering plastic waste and financing its removal, these initiatives not only reduce environmental pollution but also create jobs and support waste workers worldwide.
