litter – Green Little Cat

5 Eco-Friendly Litter Scoops

1. ORE Pet Recycled Melamine Kitty Litter Scoop

ORE makes fun and eco-friendly cat products and their kitty litter scoop is no exception. This whimsical litter scoop is made from recycled Melamine and it features a foot-long handle as well as a paw-shaped scoop.

The melamine is non-toxic, lead-free and meets American, Canadian and European standards. The recycled melamine adds dots of colour to this fun accessory. No boring beige here! You can find this Recycled Melamine Kitty Litter Scoop on Amazon for just over $10.

2. SmartyKat Loo Ladle Cat Litter Scoop

Here’s an eco-friendly litter scoop made from recycled plastic. The SmartyKat Loo Ladle litter scoop features a wide-mouth design, extra-large scoop and a long handle to make cat litter scooping less of a chore.

It’s available in a nondescript tan colour, which is actually a good colour for camouflaging litter dust and waste. Less cleaning! You can pick up the SmartyKat Loo Ladle Recycled Plastic Litter Scoop for about $5 on Amazon.com and it qualifies for Amazon’s free shipping deal.

3. Van Ness Eco Litter Scoop

Here’s another beige litter scoop made from eco-friendly materials. It’s the Van Ness Eco Litter Scoop, made from plant-based materials and dyed with soy-based inks. Like the Beco Scoop, this one is also biodegradable.

In addition to litter scoops, Van Ness also offers a full line of green cat products. You can learn more on the Van Ness website.

4. BeCo Eco Litter Scoop

The BeCo cat litter scoop looks just like every other typical litter scoop, but with one significant difference— it’s made from bamboo and rice husk fibres. This mix of natural materials is bonded together with natural enzymes as opposed to toxic glues, which makes the Beco Scoop 100{456796300b989ac2391159a2df073ed1ad38074dfcdb28494d5d1df8ab5972d8} biodegradable.

If you’re wondering how these scoops hold up to some serious cat litter box cleaning, the natural bio-composite is sturdy, strong and comparable to plastic scoops. However, this eco-friendly scoop is a pedigree above when it comes to being green. At under $10, the BeCo Eco Litter Scoop is pricier than a cheap plastic scoop, but it should last just as long and with the biodegradable bio-composite, you’ll have no guilt when it’s time to replace it.

5. Duranimals DuraScoop Cat Litter Scoop

Sometimes, buying a scoop that is designed to last a long time is more eco-friendly than picking up a cat litter scoop made from natural materials. It all depends on how you use the product and how long you intend to use it. The Duranimals Durascoop fits the bill for durability. This sturdy litter scoop doesn’t bend or flex and it’s made from corrosion-resistant aluminum.

If you have multiple cat household, this might be the lifetime scoop for you. It’s lightweight, oversized with a comfortable grip to make it easier to clean your cat box or boxes, should I say? As on reviewer on Amazon raved, “This scoop makes my life easier. It’s strong. It sifts. It DOES NOT BEND. It does not fling. I love it. With 5 cats in the house, I need all the help I can get. This scoop is my best decision since I married a man who loves cats.”

Check out the Duranimals DuraScoop Cat Litter Scoop with over ONE THOUSAND 5-star reviews on Amazon.

How to Make Recycled Newspaper Cat Litter

Recently, I came across a recipe for making your own recycled newspaper cat litter. Naturally, since I’m a big DIY proponent, I couldn’t resist trying out the instructions for making kitty litter out of recycled newspaper. The litter recipe was the invention of Allie Larkin and is posted on her blog, Allie’s Answers.

My first concern about making litter from newsprint was the ink on the paper. Was it safe for my cat and me and was it safe to rinse it down the drain? Good old Wikipedia had the answers under an article about Soy Ink. It cited a 2004 article from Graphics Arts Online that states, “Currently, about a third of the nation’s daily and weekly newspapers print with soy inks, including about 95{456796300b989ac2391159a2df073ed1ad38074dfcdb28494d5d1df8ab5972d8} of the 1,500-plus high-circulation dailies. Soy inks have become the prime source for newspaper color printing, with publishers citing their performance on press, vibrant colors, and environmental friendliness (no volatile organic compounds). Though black soy news inks cost slightly more than their conventional counterparts, publishers still find them competitive because of the extra coverage they afford.” To be extra sure, you could always contact your local newspaper and ask them.

This was actually a moot point for my experiment in making my own cat litter because I have newsprint packing paper that I can use. I have literally been reusing the same packing paper for over 4 years through 3 moves and I’m planning to keep reusing it for the next time I move, maybe in a few years. However, some pieces have become so tattered that they’re really not that good for packing stuff anymore. I used these sheets of newsprint to try out the cat litter recipe.

Since there’s no ink on my packing paper, I skipped the first two steps that entail washing off the ink. For my test batch, I used the equivalent of 1.5 full sheets of a newspaper. Allie’s instructions call for a paper shredder, but I don’t have one, so I tried tearing the paper into strips. I found that by stacking 4 sheets together and following the grain of the newspaper, it was relatively simple to tear it into strips about 1/4″ to 1/2″ wide.

Next I added some warm water and my big pile of shredded paper shrank down into a wet mass. I dumped it into a collander, squeezed out the water and using my hands, mixed in about 1/4 cup of baking soda. The newsprint shrank down to a small ball.

Allie suggests crumbling the newspaper mixture onto a screen and leaving it to dry for a few days. I also don’t happen to have a screen, so I tried improvising by using a really old towel that was beyond donating except to an animal shelter. It’s about 90 degrees outside, so I spread out the towel in the sun. Then, I put a layer of mesh fabric on top of it. The mesh is leftover from a DIY Hallowe’en costume where my husband went as a beekeeper. We knew if we kept the mesh, we’d find a use for it one day.

I crumbled the newsprint, which took a bit longer than I expected. I think I was crumbling too small based on Allie’s photo on her blog, so you should try making bigger “crumbs” if you’re going to make your own recycled newspaper cat litter.

Next, I waited for about a day for the do-it-yourself cat litter to dry. In the end, the recipe yielded about 3 to 4 cups of recycled newspaper cat litter. The final texture came out a bit like wood shavings. Allie’s looked more like little balls, so I’m wondering if I didn’t add enough baking soda or conversely, added too much.

I tossed it into Furball’s box, mixed it up with his organic wheatgrass litter, and waited to see how he would react. Because it was such a small amount and he had used recycled newspaper litter before, I wasn’t too concerned about the homemade litter upsetting his normal routine. He did his business as usual.

I can’t really comment on how the homemade litter made from newsprint was for controlling odors because I made such a small amount. It also won’t fit neatly through the standard litter scoop. However, if you’ve got the time, want to save some money and are hardcore green, making your own litter may be a great option — especially if you know people who have a newspaper subscription (try friends/neighbours/the library). Why not give it a try?