Cat litter sustainability

[Jimlovescats]

Hello fellow cat lovers,

I love my cats but putting their litter to landfill bothers me a lot. Around 2 million tonnes a year go to landfill in Europe every year with a similar amount in the US. I've tried wood pellets but don't have access to composting and putting these to landfill is worse than clay based litter.

As part of an Open University design course I've come up with a concept for washable, reusable litter made from recycled plastic. This isn't something I'm planning to try to commercialise myself but as an academic exercise I'm trying to find out what is important to cat owners. Feedback so far is that price still matters to eco-aware cat lovers but that washable, reusable cat litter and a tray that washes litter is something people might buy at the right price. For others, price and convenience are the key issues.

I'd love to hear what other cat lovers think so if you are also confined to quarters due to COVID19 and have the time, please tell me what you think. (I tried to attach a concept poster but the pdf file extension doesn't seem compatible with the site.)

Thanks,
Jim

[Kay]

I'd buy a washable cat litter, but only if it was fine granules, as I've found most cats prefer it

price would be less of a consideration than reliability of supply though

I have myself thought a finely sieved compost might work, as for those with gardens it could be spread around, and even if it had to go to landfill, it would not harm the environment

[Ruth B]

About a year ago I changed from a clay based cat litter to one made from corn kernels, partly due to environmental reasons.

The corn kernels are a waste product to start with, they are natural and fully biodegradable. They clump almost as well as the clay litter did, and are as good at odour control. While they can be flushed away, with 3 cats in the household I prefer not to put that strain on the drains so mine do go in the bin and where I live they are taken to a waste incinerator that then turns it into heat and power, not the best option when compared to composting it, but in my opinion better than a land fill that is designed not to let things rot down. They are also cheaper than the clay based cat litter I used to use.

The problem I can see with plastic litter is the odour control, something would have to be added to it to make sure it didn't smell. You would also have the problem of making sure that it could be washed in a hygienic manner, some places do use 'grey water drainage' for some waste water which means it doesn't go into the foul water sewer system. Litter trays would have to be specially designed so that the litter could be separated from the liquid waste easily as I assume it wouldn't be designed to be clumping. The cats I have had have all seemed to prefer a fine grained litter, the original clay litter was almost like a fine sand, while the corn kernel is a bit more granular, which I could see being a problem as any type of integral sieving system to allow the liquids to flow out would likely be prone to clogging up.

Non absorbent plastic litter is already available as it is used to take urine samples from cats, the cat uses the litter tray as normal and then the urine can be syringed up. I believe that that litter could already be washed and reused if someone wanted to.

Personally, while I know it isn't likely to happen any time soon, I would love to see a way of disposing of biodegradable cat litter using some form or reed bed system, unfortunately making the collection and transportation of waste litter from the domestic homes a viable business would be difficult.

[susand]

Hi Ruth,

I’d love a reusable litter but I can’t think how you’d design one that didn’t need to be washed at least once a day, which would be too much of a faff to make it viable for most people.

A litter that controls odour is one of my main priorities. Also on the wish list is eco friendliness, one that doesn’t need to be changed more than once a month and if you could design one that doesn’t track so my living room carpet doesn’t permanently look like I’ve sprinkled grit all over it, that would be awesome.

It also needs to be a litter that a cat will actually use. The plastic litters that vets supply when they want you to get a urine sample are hopeless. Neither of my cats would use it!

I use cats-best which is biodegradable and I compost it. After about 6 months it kind of dissolves into a fine sawdust which I then dig into my borders. It’s great for retaining moisture in the soil during a hot summer when used as a mulch, so you don’t have to water so much. There is no smell and it’s fine for flowers, although they say not to put it on vegetables due the risk of toxoplasmosis.

Another benefit is my bin bag is a lot lighter now, which I really appreciate on bin days, when I have to lug it out onto the street to be collected.

[susand]

Apologies, I mean ‘ Hi Jim loves cats’, rather than ‘Hi Ruth’ sorry, Ruth was the last to post, not the original poster, I got a bit mixed up.

[Jimlovescats]

I'd buy a washable cat litter, but only if it was fine granules, as I've found most cats prefer it

price would be less of a consideration than reliability of supply though

I have myself thought a finely sieved compost might work, as for those with gardens it could be spread around, and even if it had to go to landfill, it would not harm the environment

Hi Kay, thanks for your feedback

I'm thinking that a range of granule sizes might be worth trying, one of mine likes fine but the other is happy with larger pellets. Composting is a good option though I don't have access to that. Although, I've managed to get one of mine used to wood pellets I discovered that disposing of these to landfill would generate methane, and land use change to make the landfill site itself could be seen as a harmful environmental impact. There could be unintended consequences of the plastic granule concept also if they end up in the drain or in landfill too.

[Jimlovescats]

About a year ago I changed from a clay based cat litter to one made from corn kernels, partly due to environmental reasons.

The corn kernels are a waste product to start with, they are natural and fully biodegradable. They clump almost as well as the clay litter did, and are as good at odour control. While they can be flushed away, with 3 cats in the household I prefer not to put that strain on the drains so mine do go in the bin and where I live they are taken to a waste incinerator that then turns it into heat and power, not the best option when compared to composting it, but in my opinion better than a land fill that is designed not to let things rot down. They are also cheaper than the clay based cat litter I used to use.

The problem I can see with plastic litter is the odour control, something would have to be added to it to make sure it didn't smell. You would also have the problem of making sure that it could be washed in a hygienic manner, some places do use 'grey water drainage' for some waste water which means it doesn't go into the foul water sewer system. Litter trays would have to be specially designed so that the litter could be separated from the liquid waste easily as I assume it wouldn't be designed to be clumping. The cats I have had have all seemed to prefer a fine grained litter, the original clay litter was almost like a fine sand, while the corn kernel is a bit more granular, which I could see being a problem as any type of integral sieving system to allow the liquids to flow out would likely be prone to clogging up.

Non absorbent plastic litter is already available as it is used to take urine samples from cats, the cat uses the litter tray as normal and then the urine can be syringed up. I believe that that litter could already be washed and reused if someone wanted to.

Personally, while I know it isn't likely to happen any time soon, I would love to see a way of disposing of biodegradable cat litter using some form or reed bed system, unfortunately making the collection and transportation of waste litter from the domestic homes a viable business would be difficult.

Hi Ruth, thanks for your feedback

I like the corn kernels solution and when burned they release the CO2 they absorbed in growth, if the plant handles particulate matter in emissions then that's not a bad outcome. I also like your idea for a sustainable waste management service using reed beds. There are some services advertised but I doubt they do it sustainably.

I'll ponder on your observations, thanks for these.

Regards,
Jim

[Jimlovescats]

Hi Ruth,

I’d love a reusable litter but I can’t think how you’d design one that didn’t need to be washed at least once a day, which would be too much of a faff to make it viable for most people.

A litter that controls odour is one of my main priorities. Also on the wish list is eco friendliness, one that doesn’t need to be changed more than once a month and if you could design one that doesn’t track so my living room carpet doesn’t permanently look like I’ve sprinkled grit all over it, that would be awesome.

It also needs to be a litter that a cat will actually use. The plastic litters that vets supply when they want you to get a urine sample are hopeless. Neither of my cats would use it!

I use cats-best which is biodegradable and I compost it. After about 6 months it kind of dissolves into a fine sawdust which I then dig into my borders. It’s great for retaining moisture in the soil during a hot summer when used as a mulch, so you don’t have to water so much. There is no smell and it’s fine for flowers, although they say not to put it on vegetables due the risk of toxoplasmosis.

Another benefit is my bin bag is a lot lighter now, which I really appreciate on bin days, when I have to lug it out onto the street to be collected.

Hi Susan, thanks for your feedback and insights

I'll need to build a prototype and see how it goes, I agree daily washing is unlikely to be feasible for folks.

Cheers,
Jim