Need help with being "green" while cleaning litterboxes

**jazzcat** · 07-17-2008, 04:53 PM

I'm trying to be more "Green" around here but one place I really fail is with disposing of the litterbox contents. I use clumping litter and when I clean the boxes I put the clumps in a plastic shopping bag and put that in the trash. What could I use besides plastic bags that would be okay for the environment?

Keep in mind that I clean the boxes daily and I take my trash off once a week so it has to be something that won't stink or has to be reopened every day. Also, I don't want to change the type of litter - the cats react badly to change (so do I).

Any ideas or suggestions? What do you use?

**Karen** · 07-17-2008, 04:56 PM

Do you know what happens to your trash? Does it go to a dump, or to an incinerator - make that a "Waste to Energy Reclamation Center" for those determined to be politically correct!

**Freedom** · 07-17-2008, 04:59 PM

I know that, for dogs, there are poop scoop bags which are environmentally friendly. I use them for the dog but . . . they are too small for me, emptying so many litter boxes. I need a bag per box! Plus, I need something the scoop will fit in easily. I am not always at my best when I am cleaning the boxes, so trying to aim for a small bag opening would never work.

**jazzcat** · 07-17-2008, 05:00 PM

Karen - We have a convenience center with recycling nearby and I take it there. I'm pretty sure the trash goes to a dump/landfill.

**catmandu** · 07-17-2008, 05:16 PM

I PUT SOME OUT WITH MY TRASH, THE REST I LEAVE IN A GARBAGE BIN AT THE BUS STOP THAT HAS A GARBAGE BAG INSIDE , AND ITS THE MALLS BAG, AND IT GOES TO A LANDFILL.
I AM SUPRISED HOW MUCH WASTE THERES WITH 10 CATS, I AM ALWAYS RUNNING OUT OF LITTER.

**Jessika** · 07-17-2008, 05:22 PM

This may be gross to some, but we re-use an empty tub of kitty litter to dump it all into, since it has a lid we can just pop the lid on. We have about five or six litterboxes to clean out a day so it can add up quick!

**jazzcat** · 07-17-2008, 05:31 PM

Originally Posted by Jessika

This may be gross to some, but we re-use an empty tub of kitty litter to dump it all into, since it has a lid we can just pop the lid on. We have about five or six litterboxes to clean out a day so it can add up quick!

Actually that is what I put each plastic shopping bag into when I clean the boxes daily so I guess I just need to bypass the plastic bag and dump right into the litter bucket. I imagine that gets mighty stinky though.

I got you beat on the litterbox number - I have 9 total.

I have a large one with a lid in the laundry room, 6 in the "litterbox room" which is a walled of room of the garage the cats have access to through a pet door and 2 in the garage for the 2-3 cats I allow to stay out there for a few hours a day.