Yesterday I was at a variety of 4th of July parties. At one party, the family was (thankfully) very educated and dedicated to the correct type of recycling. They even had a sign on their trash can and a sign on their recycling can that said which items to put where. I have added a picture of some of the items people were having at the party. Wine bottles, water bottles, solo cups, jello shots, and cans. People kept throwing in the wrong items in the wrong bins. I was trying to explain to them that those were not recyclable. They would reply "It's plastic it's recyclable". This is when I, along with some other environmental majors, educated our friends that while an item may be plastic and it may have a recycling symbol on it doesn't mean its accepted in our city, and that there needs to be a market for the plastic. It was a little frustrating just to see how much people don't know and how many items get improperly disposed daily, but I hope I was able to educate some people
I find that a constant problem too. "But it has the symbol on it." I then explain about recent recycling challenges the US is facing due to exporting lots of plastic that is supposed to get "recycled", i.e. dumped to another country for recycling.
Does making your own pet food seem like a habit you can keep up in the long term? What else can you do to reduce your use of plastic packaging that can come from taking care of your pet's needs?
I'm not sure it's realistic for me to make my dog's own kibble, but I have been practicing making dog treats lately! This past week, I used sweet potato, pumpkin, mini Milkbone treats, blueberries, and beef broth to make a fun frozen snack for my 10 month old puppy. Sweet potatoes and pumpkin are both great digestive aids, and blueberries are a great antioxidant. I put these in an ice cube tray and give them to her about every other morning. The great part of this treat is that I used leftovers from the actual dog treats that I was making for her. This will probably be a trial and error process, but I since my puppy is a Service Dog in Training, we are constantly working on commands and socializing her in public, so we go through A LOT of treats. Being able to home make treats for her will allow me to really know what's going into her food, and I don't have to buy the treats in plastic bags. If anyone as any tips on homemaking dog treats I would love to hear!
