Five Ways Plastic is Sneaking into Your Pet’s Life

How to Protect Them From It 

Josephine Jacks, EARTHDAY.ORG 

Actress Amanda Seyfried and her beloved dog, Finn.
Both tested high for plastic phthalate chemicals

In the morning when I wake up, I pop out my plastic retainers and brush my teeth using my plastic toothbrush. I take a shower using products in plastic bottles that contain plastic chemicals. 

I head to the kitchen, pour myself a bowl of cereal from a box containing a plastic inner lining, and pour in milk from a plastic carton. Then I throw on some clothes made from mostly polyester and poly-mixes, which are 60% plastic, according to the UN Environment Programme, and put on my plastic trainers to head to the gym. Later, I feed my dog, scooping dry food from plastic packaging and a couple of spoonful’s of wet food from a tin internally coated with a plastic chemical.  

But my plastic exposure is far from over as my car is shedding microplastics inside and out, with tires releasing a seemingly limitless supply of microplastic particles into the atmosphere.  

When I get to the gym, every piece of equipment in there is partially made with plastics, including the gym mats. After a workout, I carefully avoid buying a single use plastic bottle of water but sip from the hard plastic spout of my plastic water bottle. All that time, my dog’s been at home playing with plastic toys from a plastic basket.  

Plastic is all around us, infiltrating every part of our lives. Therefore, it is unsurprising to learn that plastic is infiltrating every part of our beloved pets’ lives, too - potentially all one billion of the planet’s pets. 

To illustrate this point Hollywood actress Amanda Seyfried accepted our invitation to test herself and her dog Finn, for plastic chemicals. Both of them scored extremely highly on the test for phthalates. These plastic chemicals are used to make harder plastics, like PVC, softer and they are found in a huge array of products. Including some plastic packaging, cosmetics and a myriad of other items.  

“I was anxious about the results and when they came back I was definitely upset by my dog Finn’s exposure, he scored in the top 90% on phthalates, which is very high,” said Amanda Seyfried. “I feed him a healthy diet but I realize now that the plastic packaging on his food is leaching toxic chemicals directly into it. It was a bit of a wake up call. If his food is contaminated with phthalates, then that convinces me that all of us are much more exposed than we perhaps realize, including our children.”  

EARTHDAY.ORG has published a new report on Pets vs. Plastics, which includes information on the many and varied ways that plastic can end up being consumed by our dogs and cats, to the detriment of their health. WHY? Because plastic is derived from a cocktail of oil and additive chemicals, like PVC, bisphenol A, PVC, and phthalates. These can leach into our pets’ gums, stomachs, and skin and are associated with a whole host of health issues for our pets, like  cancers, potential infertility, liver failure, miscarriage, and more. 

 

Here are five takeaways from the report and how you can limit your animals’ plastic exposure.

#1: Pet toys are often made of plastic. Pet toys also often go in animals’ mouths.

Plush pet toys, bedding, and clothes are made from plastic synthetic textiles like polyester which shed microplastics. Even non-polyester toys can still contain microplastics or plastic additive chemicals. For example, Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), a hard plastic, and its chemical softener, phthalates, are often included in dog toys. Phthalates are banned in some countries for use in children’s toys and could cause malformations in the reproductive systems of animals. Despite these warning signs, pet toys are still unregulated for dangerous chemicals.

 

To keep your pet safe from the harms of plastic and its chemical additives in toys, you can give your pet toys made out of natural materials like bamboo, organic cotton and natural rubber. Or, you can make your own pet toys using old cotton clothing to safely let your dogs and cats play. 

#2: Restaurant waste, feces, plastic, or chemicals could be lurking in your pet’s food. 

The Truth About Pets website states that the nonprofit Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO), which is the body tasked with describing animal feed and pet food ingredients, lists food processing waste, restaurant food waste, and recovered retail food in animal food. They also permit animal waste, by which they mean cattle, swine, and chicken poop.   

Plastic is not officially ‘allowed’ as an ingredient in US pet food, but it gets into pet food via the plastic ear tags attached to the heads of carcass animals. By the way, dust is another ingredient they list as acceptable for your pet’s food! 

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is charged with maintaining the safety of pet food, and they do carry out numerous pet food recalls every year - but these typically relate to salmonella outbreaks and the overuse of Vitamin D, which can be dangerous for dogs and cats. Looking for plastics in pet food is not high on their agenda, probably because the FDA only looks for the use of that kind of ingredient after a whistleblower tip off.   

To ensure the quality and safety of your pet’s food, you can try cooking it from scratch with the guidance of your veterinarian. Dogs, for example, need protein, fat, minerals and vitamins, which can be found in some of the same foods humans themselves eat. Just be sure there are no toxic ingredients for dogs, such as onions, grapes, or chocolate. 

#3: Your pet’s food is packaged in plastic - this could be leaching into their food.

Much like toys, pet food packaging is often made of plastics, like plastic pouches. Dog feed is often lined with BPA and cat food tins with PVC, and phthalates can be used to create containers. These plastic cocktails can all leach into pet food and cause health problems for pets. Despite studies demonstrating the link between plastic chemicals and health problems in animals, many pet food companies continue to utilize these substances. 

If not making your pet’s food from scratch, try to find pet food that packages with plastic alternatives or plant-based materials, like wax-coated paper or bamboo. Small switches can make all the difference in the long term health of your dog or cat. Once you get your kibble home, which nearly always comes in some kind of plastic packaging, empty it into a tin container. The less time your pet’s food is exposed to plastic, the better. 

#4: Your four-legged friend is close to the ground, where dust and microplastics lie.

Unless you have a Great Dane, your pets are probably physically smaller and closer to the ground than most of us, apart from infants. This puts them at greater and more frequent risk of inhaling the microplastics and microfibers found in dust - coming from our clothes, carpets, curtains, and household furniture, nearly all of which are made at least partially from some form of plastic material. 

 

The best tip is to vacuum frequently as this is probably the most effective way of controlling and reducing their exposure - and ours - to plastic in dust! Regular cleaning and dusting prevents dust from accumulating. Additionally, using an indoor air filter can minimize microplastics in the air of the home.  

#5: Neither the American nor global pet product industry is well regulated.

There are basically no laws expressly or solely regulating pet toys in the US. The FDA does not regulate non-food, pet-related products and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) says it lacks the authority to protect pets from unsafe products, like plastic toys, bedding and clothes. 

Despite 66% of U.S. households owning a pet, proper regulation has been put on the backburner, so consider asking your local political leaders to do more to protect our pets. In the long term, we must demand government regulation at a federal level to keep ourselves and our pets safe. Vote for lawmakers who support pet-friendly legislation, and sign the Global Plastics Treaty. Just as humans have safety regulations for their food and belongings, so too should man’s best friends.

If you are reading this and wonder, really, should we care that much about our pets, remember they are considered by scientists to be sentinel animals. Which means their exposure to harmful toxins and particulates is indicative of human exposure, so what’s bad for our dogs and cats is ultimately bad for us too.