Ella meets Laura, who works at Portland Vets and is trying to make veterinary surgeries a greener place.
Ella: I read that most waste humans make is made at work, what type of waste does a vets make?
Laura: Good question. We actually make quite a lot of waste, more than we should. There are lots of areas we could reduce it, like lots of paper towels for cleaning things, drying our hands. Lots of plastic for the syringes, wrappings that we have around everything and we do a LOT of washing so there is a lot of water usage with a lot of electricity usage as well but it's mainly that there is a lot of plastic that we really should be trying to cut down on.
Ella: What are you trying to do to help?
Laura: I'm actually looking to at the moment swapping some of the single-use plastic stuff with reusable things, also some of it is to become recyclable. Also looking at things like our gloves and masks and if they can be bio-degradable.
Ella: Are pets good or bad for the planet?
Laura: I would say that they are good because they make people happier, they make people more active and when people are outside with them it makes them more aware of the countryside, nature and the things we should be saving so overall I think they make a good impact on the planet.