How can I recycle giant paper dog food sacks?
Our new furry food-processing unit is settling in well – she’s curled up in a ball on our office sofa at the moment – and we’ve been enjoying the woodland walks with her now that she can go off lead and tire herself out.
As with the cats, I’m trying to keep the waste produced by her food packaging to a minimum – and also, like with the cats’, it can mostly be recycled – cans, cardboard boxes and the giant paper sacks which are the focus of this post.
I bulk-bought the 15kg bags to save money and reduce packaging – but thought that, like with smaller bags of the same brand, the big bags would be plastic so could be reused as rubble sacks or similar in the garden. They turned out to be paper which is better in some ways – much easier to recycle – but less reusable. Or are they?
They’re a double layer arrangement – brown paper on the inside, shiny printed paper on the outside. The brown paper layer smells somewhat of dry dog food so can’t be reused for things I’d ordinarily reuse brown paper for (packaging items to post etc).
So any ideas?
I use these kind for trash bags, no problem with my service this way as long as it is bagged.
Paper is better than plastic. Ok you might not be able to reuse them for anything you want but you can recycle them as normal with the rest of your recyclable paper and card.
I wish it were that easy where I live. Our recycling facility won’t take those plastic-coated pet food bags.
Rip them up and compost them?
I find old paper birdfood sacks useful for storing home made compost in the garden shed. It helps if it is sieved compost so it is a bit drier.
Store dog’s toys and blankets in it., they’ll smell yummy to your pet.
What a great idea! It’s the most idea with the pet in mind. I us the plastic 50lb bags to collect dog poop because they’re so strong.
Use them to hold shredded paper, close up and put in paper recyling bin. (Our council won’t take shredded paper loose, it requires it to be packaged).
Oops …most PRACTICAL idea
dog food bags are a combination of paper coated with plastic and are not recyclable. see if you can find a grocer who sells dog food from bulk bins (in the US i’m starting to see them), that way you don’t have to ever buy something in a non-recyclable package.
erm… how about growing potatoes or other root vegetables in them?, the woulb be more than ideal, fill them with compost , stick in your spuds and off you go! ideal if your limited on space (or non paved space)!
more than ideal, even the heavy duty paper ones would probably work for one season…
We use those large heavy paper dogfood bags to hold newspaper, cans, bottles & other recycling. Then we dump the contents & use the bags over again.
Turn it into a shopping bag.
Cut the plastic pet food sacks into strips and then braid or macrame them into dog leashes. Donate to animal shelters.
Cut away the bottom, spread like a cilinder and then crunch down into a circle from top to bottom. Tie scrunched paper together with wire or string. Now create your own wreath. Glue you doggy’s toys, photographs, items from places you’ve been together and hang next to it’s bad. All those smells will remind your dog about times past.
Use small size bags as Christmas gift bag for your pooch’ gifts.
Store fire wood in them.