Purina is calling on pet owners to recycle as part of their new initiative #PurinaRecyclesChallenge. 

The challenge encourages pet owners to break the habit of throwing away pet food cans by filming a recycling trick shot. For every trick shot shared on social media, Purina will make a donation to The Recycling Partnership to help increase access to recycling.

From now until December 15, Purina invites pet owners to take part in the challenge by filming their best recycling trick shot video and sharing it on Instagram and/or TikTok to show how they recycle their pet food cans. Purina will donate $10 for every original pet food can recycling trick shot video uploaded to TikTok or Instagram using the hashtag #PurinaRecyclesChallenge, and $1 for every engagement with each video for a total donation of up to $100,000.

Purina’s campaign hopes to address the fact that while aluminum and steel pet food cans are infinitely recyclable, not enough of them are making it into the recycle bin. 

According to the EPA, just 32 percent of waste is recycled. Pet food cans are 100 percent recyclable, but consumers’ help is required to ensure they make it into the recycling bin. Recycling pet food cans is important because using recycled aluminum cans to make new aluminum cans uses 95 percent less energy than making new cans from raw materials.

Gopi Sandhu, Vice President of Environmental Sustainability at Purina.  Said: “We launched the #PurinaRecyclesChallenge to show just how easy it is to make an impact, and to help break down some of the barriers that keep people from recycling their pet food cans. Aluminum and steel are infinitely recyclable, and given the billions of cans produced in the U.S. each year, a seemingly small act of recycling can make a big difference.”

The #PurinaRecyclesChallenge is one of Purina’s efforts to help create a healthier planet for pets and their people to enjoy together. The company is on a mission to make its packaging more sustainable. Today, nearly 90 percent of Purina’s plastic packages are designed for recycling, with a goal of reaching 95% by 2025. Other packages, made with materials like aluminium, steel, paperboard and corrugate, are recyclable today. Purina also supports organisations like The Recycling Partnership to support a better recycling system in the U.S.