But thanks to increased concern for cats’ health and the environment, there are plenty of greener options out there. Wood shavings and sawdust also make good cat litter substrates.
OZ Pet Cat Litter
Oz-Pet pellets is the ultimate anti microbial litter that will stop the strong pee pong in your litter tray by eliminating rather than masking the smell of ammonia. The eucalyptus oil in the wood pellets will stop the bacteria growing that causes the smell of ammonia in other types of litter.
Other key benefits are:
- Garden Friendly - Oz-Pet litter is recycled and manufactured from waste plantation timber that would otherwise be destined for land fill or burned.
- Will soak up 3-4 times its own weight in odour causing liquids
- Economical &endash; Greater absorbency and less litter used in a tray allows Oz-Pet to last longer than other types of litter
- Safe - No added chemicals and will not clump.
- Recyclable - After Oz-Pet Animal Litter is used it can be composted or used as mulch.
- Suitable for a wide range of pets, including cats, kittens, birds, reptiles, mice, rats and guinea pigs.
The Process
Oz-Pet Animal Litter (Trade Mark) has developed a process for converting wood waste from plantation timber into a wood pellet for use as professional quality pet litter and bedding. Raw wood shavings and sawdust undergoes extreme heat and pressure during the pelletizing process, which extracts most of the resins, oils, tars, acids and water from the wood fibre.
The remaining organic material gives the wood pellets natural odour control properties. The product reaches between 150 and 200 deg C under 320 tonnes per square centimetre of pressure as it passes through he pellet press. When the pellets exit the milling process the product is completely sterile and has become an extreme absorbent. Unlike normal wood shaving and saw dust 1kg of Oz-Pet Animal Litter can absorb up to 4 litres of liquid.
Breeders Choice
Uniquely formulated Breeders Choice cat litter pellets are made from >99% recycled paper with no additives or chemicals.
Superior cat litter qualities include:
- Natural odour control
- No additives or chemicals
- Highly absorbent – superior performance
- Suitable for all cat breeds
- Biodegradable
- Economical – long lasting
- Lightweight – easy to handle
- Virtually dust-free – reduces tracking & will not mark floors
FibreCycle products are recycled and boast many environmental features:
- Made from >99% recycled paper (no virgin wood fibre) which is a renewable resource otherwise destined for landfill.
- No additives or chemicals.
- No oxygen or elemental bleaching.
- The manufacturing process is a closed loop whereby process generated fines are captured and reintroduced to the process.
- Lighter than competitor products, which means production and transportation costs have a far lower environmental footprint than competitor products.
- Where possible, energy used in the process is recycled
After use as cat litter or bedding the pellets can be recycled as:
- Compost, used as fuel for furnaces, as soil conditioner or mulch.
Recyclable and renewable packaging:
- Paper stock is made from renewable raw materials (specifically not a clay coated stock which is a non-renewable resource).
- Low impact printing includes digital plates and water-based (solvent-free) inks.
- Paper packaging is recyclable.
Environmental impact statistics
Here are some statistics on the environmental impact of our actions:
- Recycling each ton of paper saves 17 trees and 7,000 gallons (26,500 litres) of water (source: EPA)
- Timber production not only harms trees: 3,000 species of fish and wildlife and 10,000 plant species live in National Forests (source: Sierra Club)
- The amount of paper we throw away annually accounts for approximately 40% of municipal solid waste (source: Sierra Club)
- Amount of refuse thrown out by average personal annually: 1,500 pounds (680 kg) (source: Embracing the Earth, Mark Harris)
- Amount of refuse thrown out by a person who composts: 375 pounds (170 kg) (source: Embracing the Earth, Mark Harris)
- Percent of junk mail recycled: 5.2% (source: Advertising Mail Marketing Association)
- Recycled paper generates 95% less air pollution (source: Center for Ecological Technology)
Frugal eco-conscious cat owners might consider making their own cat litter by re-purposing everyday materials that would otherwise end up in the waste stream. Plain sawdust makes great cat litter, but doesn’t control odor as well as other substrates and might be hard to find in urban areas, plus turning old newspapers into cat litter is a bit of an involved process, but can save money while extending the life of discarded newsprint.