Buy Dog Food in Bulk to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint and Save Money

One simple tip for green living with a dog is to buy dog food in bulk. Most people think that buying in bulk is just a way to save money.  You do save money,  but it’s also a way to use less packaging.  By buying in bulk you’re throwing away less post-consumer waste in the form of the bags the dog food comes in.

Bulk packaging is not limited to cheap or unhealthy brands of dog food. Just about every brand of dog food is available in bulk. As an example, I feed my Bulldog Canidae, which is a natural, holistic dog food. My local big-box pet store doesn’t carry that brand and the neighborhood pet store that does carry it only carries it in 5 pound bags.

However, I found it online in 30 pound bags.

While one 30 pound bag requires more packaging than one 5 pound bag, it doesn’t use six-times as much packaging, thereby reducing the amount of garbage associated with the packaging. This is also the reason buying in bulk is less expensive. Statistics suggest that 8% of the cost of food (dog or people) goes towards packaging.

To keep the food from going stale I place the Canidae inside a ABO Gear Eco Food Sac. It’s a food container made of jute and has a zip lid. It comes in a 30-pound or 50-pound size and is available online. They also make a traveling food and drink station, so if you’re looking to buy it for dog food storage at home, be sure you select one of the bigger storage sacs.

Finally, another green bi-product of buying dog food in bulk is that you’ll go to the pet store less frequently thereby using less fuel. And if you order online and have it shipped to your home, buying bigger bags means fewer trips to your doorstep for the UPS guy.

If you’re still buying pet food in single cans or five-pound bags, please buy dog food in bulk to reduce your carbon footprint and save money. If you know other ways of green living with a pet, please share them below.