Cat Litter Vermicomposting

One topic I’ve been asked about quite a lot is pet waste vermicomposting. Of course, it is totally understandable – after all, there are millions of pet owners in North America, and dealing with pet waste materials is definitely one of the not-so-enjoyable responsibilities associated with taking care of our furry friends.

For quite some time I’ve been meaning to make a video (and write) about an design idea I’ve had for a pet waste vermicomposting system. As I’ve mentioned at least a few times here on the blog, it’s definitely NOT a good idea to add pet (or human) wastes to our regular composting systems. There are some exceptions to this rule – the poop from vegetarian animals like rabbits, guinea pigs etc should be totally fine, although you should still be careful using it based on the high nitrogen content.

Originally I was planning to set up my own pet waste system in the backyard (making sure to take lots of pictures) and then collect cat poop from our two litter boxes and add it to the system (likely testing out my biodegradable poop bags while I was at it). Notice I didn’t say that I was planning to add my cat litter to the system. If you are using clumping (or regular) cat litter, as we have been doing for years, you definitely DO NOT want to add this stuff to a composting system. Back when I was young and dumb I did this and ended up with the most disgusting clay-poop cake you can imagine. Not exactly worm- (or environmentally-) friendly!!

During a recent visit to our local supermarket, I noticed they were offering a new ‘green’ cat litter (‘Presidents Choice’ brand – likely a familiar name only to my fellow Canadians). It’s not the cheapest stuff, that’s for sure, but it claims to be twice as absorbent as clumping cat litter – and more importantly it is ‘compostable’!
Whoohoo!

I picked up a couple bags of the stuff today, and I am really looking forward to testing it out (likely in one litter box to start). Aside from feeling good about no longer sending hundreds of pounds (or more) of clumping cat litter to the dump every year (not to mention the hassle associated with cleaning and throwing it out in the first place), the green cat litter is really going to help me test out my pet waste composting system.

I’ll certainly write a lot more about this once my system is up and running, but I figured it was worth mentioning now so all you pet-fanatic-vermicomposters out there have something to look forward to.

Technorati Tags: pet waste, pet poop, composting, compost, vermicomposting, worm composting, dog poop, cat litter, earth friendly, green

Written by Bentley on November 7th, 2008 with 14 comments.
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