For years now, more pet owners and veterinarians have opted for cremation as a way to deal with the end-of-life process of their pets. In Canada, almost 80% of pets who die are cremated every year.
But lately, the cremation process has come under scrutiny as our culture responds to climate change.
In fact, the cremation of one pet releases 230 lbs of C02 into the atmosphere. In a country that cremates 800,000 pets a year, that is a seriously big carbon footprint, – or paw print – which is expected to grow by over 4% a year over the next 5 years. But just when it looks like another cause of climate change is growing out of control, enter the tree. The average tree absorbs 48 pounds of carbon dioxide per year and can re-capture 1 ton of carbon dioxide by the time it reaches 40 years old. In other words one tree can capture the C02 produced by the cremation of a pet in under 5 years. And then, that same tree continues capturing C02 over its lifetime. A fact seemingly not lost on tree-huggers.
That’s why a company in Canada called Petatree is offering pet owners the opportunity to transform the cremated remains of their pet into the life of a tree. Pet owners place the pet’s cremains or ashes into the Petatree urn, which is biodegradable and fully compostable, along with soil, a special pH buffer and a tree sapling. Not only does this provide pet owners with a natural, living memorial to their pet, but it responsibly eliminates the carbon foot print created by the cremation process-and then some.
Still wondering what trees do for people? Well, when they aren’t eliminating global warming, one tree on its own routinely provides a day’s supply of oxygen for 4 people – every day. Trees; they deserve every hug they get.