I thought about my cat litter today while working in the lab. First, I was feeling overwhelmed by the thought of composting the cat litter without access to a yard and because of the fear of attracting mice to my apartment complex. Then, I was thinking that I might switch to BioBags, but that comes at the cost of the land use and energy impacts associated with producing them. Plus, I wouldn’t be able to put them in the curbside compost bin. But, I think I may have a better (although not perfect) solution. When we first started the plastics challenge, I lamented about the plastic waste associated with doing scientific research, much of which is unavoidable in order to do the research well. In my lab, we use small plastic specimen cups a lot, and they come wrapped in a plastic bag about the size and shape of a newspaper bag. These are all just thrown in the garbage after we are done with the specimen cups. Of course! I could rescue some lab plastic, bring it home, and use it for litter. It’s still plastic, but it’s unavoidable and was headed to the landfill anyway.

That is a bummer about about Tom’s toothpaste!

EcoCatLady – I love your jolly rancher story. They are really gross.

Anyhow, I thought that Jolly Ranchers were the most delicious thing ever invented. So imaging my surprise when I happened upon one not too long ago, popped it in my mouth and was totally shocked and horrified to find that it tasted like sucking on a pile of chemicals! OK… so there’s no point to this little story, I just found it amusing how my tastes had changed.

On the kitty litter front. I’ve been composting it for about a year now. You’ve gotta use some sort of natural litter (not clay) or else you’ll just end up with shitty cement! Also, if you do attempt it, you should compost it separately from your regular stuff and use it only on ornamental plants, not food crops. They say you can use it on food crops if you let it compost for at least 18 months, but I didn’t feel like it was a good idea. The only problem I’ve had is mice! I use SWheat scoop (made from wheat) and apparently mice feel the same way about it as 8-year olds do about Jolly Ranchers! Haven’t figured out what to do about that yet, but the neighborhood Tom Cat is having a field day catching them!

Tom’s of Maine toothpaste comes in recyclable aluminum tubes. You can return them to Tom’s for recycling. But be aware that all aluminum tubes probably have BPA in them. *Sigh*

http://myplasticfreelife.com/2009/02/bpa-in-your-toothpaste-recycling-tubes/

Have you figured out toilet paper yet? This is what we do:

http://myplasticfreelife.com/2007/08/seventh-generation-amazoncom-solving/