Plastic bags offer cat owners an easy way to collect poop from a litter tray and dispose of it in the waste. However, as we become more environmentally conscious, plastic is a material we seek to avoid, and some areas even ban it.
Disposing of cat poop without plastic is easier than you might think, and there are several eco-friendly solutions, such as paper bags or composting, to keep your home poop and smell-free without using plastic bags.
How do you dispose of cat feces?
If you have a cat, you must find a way to dispose of its feces responsibly. Cat poop contains Toxoplasma and other harmful pathogens that can pose a hazard to the local waterways and wildlife if you do not dispose of it correctly.
Using biodegradable packaging, you’ll want to place cat poop in with your general waste. This is the easiest and most popular form of disposal.
The other option is to compost the cat waste, though you need to take precautions with this to avoid contaminating other areas of your garden.
Can you buy paper bags for cat litter disposal?
There are specific paper products on the market that allow you to collect and dispose of pet poop, such as these biodegradable bags, which use recycled paper and bamboo with no plastic. Beyond GREEN also makes paper bags for cat litter disposal made from FSC-approved paper and recyclables.
You can also use regular paper bags (from the drugstore or grocery store) to dispose of cat litter. Simply scoop the litter into the bag, fold it over, then throw it into the garbage. The advantage to using paper products is that they will break down much faster than other products, leaving less of a footprint on the environment.
Which are the best biodegradable cat poop bags?
Manufacturers offer several biodegradable cat poop bags, which provide a convenient way to dispose of cat poop without using plastics.
Boxiecat provides unscented waste bags, which fit any scoop, are easy to use, and break down faster than plastics. While Planet Poops bags break down in 90 days, leaving only biomass and CO2 in their wake (that means no chemicals or microplastics leach into the environment).
And Pet in Pet gives you a more environmentally friendly way of disposing of cat poop by providing leak-proof bags composed of USDA-certified materials.
There are hundreds of biodegradable products on the market, so you’ll want to look for the brands which have approval from official bodies and only include eco-friendly components.
The disadvantage of using biodegradable bags is that they struggle to decompose in the anaerobic environment of a landfill. Still, they don’t leach out microplastics, and chemicals like plastic products do.
How Do You Scoop Cat Litter Without A Plastic Bag?
To avoid using lots of separate plastic bags each week, use an alternative method for scooping out your cat litter. One of the best ways is to keep an airtight container next to the litter tray and scoop all used litter into it during the week. This way, you only need to empty it once, and you can use a paper bag for disposal.
What bin do you put cat poop in?
Always put cat poop in the general waste bin to avoid contaminating recyclable materials.
Avoid putting any substance from your cat’s litter box into your composting container as it will contaminate everything else in the bin, causing the collection services to dump the whole lot in the garbage.
Is it OK to flush cat poop down the toilet?
You should avoid flushing cat poop down the toilet as it contains toxins and pathogens that can harm both sea life and humans. Both poop and litter contain substances such as Toxoplasma and Cryptosporidium, which can cause human disease.
Many waste plants cannot filter these pathogens, so if you flush cat poop down the toilet, you risk putting your local waterways and wildlife at risk.
How to dispose of cat poo in garden.
You can compost cat poop, but only if you use certain types of litter. Even with the correct litter, cat poop contains Toxoplasma and parasites that can infect people.
Unless you know what you’re doing, composting cat feces is not a good idea and could put you and your family at a serious health risk. If your compost patch sits near an edible garden, avoid composting cat poop at all costs.
You should only use pet waste compost on non-edible crops or lawns. In addition, you should allow the waste to sit for at least a year before using it; this will enable it to heat sufficiently enough to kill off pathogens.
Is it OK to dump cat litter outside?
You shouldn’t dump cat litter outside as it contains harmful pathogens; however, there are some alternative materials you can use to replace the store-bought litter. These include wood shavings, newspaper, sand, or potting soil, and they are far more environmentally friendly than traditional cat litters.
You could use this alternative type of litter in compost as long as the pile is away from any waterways and you only use it on non-edible plants.
