I guess this is an East Coast thing, where people tend not to think very hard about how easy it often is to do the right, or at least the less wrong thing, when it comes to the environment.
There are cat litters made from used newspapers, which are clearly non-toxic and made from recycled stuff. (Recycling is pretty good! Comes right after reducing and reusing.) As a bonus it doesn't disintegrate into a fine powder that kitty tracks all over after a few days. On the down side, does nothing to hide or mask odors.
There are also cat litters made of pine. Pine is fast growing sort of tree. It's not toxic. Heck, this is good for the environment because trees take CO2 out of the air to make wood, and then if the wood is not burned but instead buried in a landfill, that's CO2 that won't add to heating of the planet's lower atmosphere and ocean. Those are good things! Also, pine has a strong, pleasant odor, unlike kitty's excretions. On the flip side, the pine pellets to disintegrate and get tracked all over by kitty.
So I use a parfait with pine on the bottom (for the smell and the CO2 sequestration) and used newspaper pellets on top (to keep the tracking down).
There are also cat litters made from wheat. Even a scoopable variety. Crazy, I know. A bit pricey, though.
On The Terrible Truth About Cats & Dogs
I guess this is an East Coast thing, where people tend not to think very hard about how easy it often is to do the right, or at least the less wrong thing, when it comes to the environment.
There are cat litters made from used newspapers, which are clearly non-toxic and made from recycled stuff. (Recycling is pretty good! Comes right after reducing and reusing.) As a bonus it doesn't disintegrate into a fine powder that kitty tracks all over after a few days. On the down side, does nothing to hide or mask odors.
There are also cat litters made of pine. Pine is fast growing sort of tree. It's not toxic. Heck, this is good for the environment because trees take CO2 out of the air to make wood, and then if the wood is not burned but instead buried in a landfill, that's CO2 that won't add to heating of the planet's lower atmosphere and ocean. Those are good things! Also, pine has a strong, pleasant odor, unlike kitty's excretions. On the flip side, the pine pellets to disintegrate and get tracked all over by kitty.
So I use a parfait with pine on the bottom (for the smell and the CO2 sequestration) and used newspaper pellets on top (to keep the tracking down).
There are also cat litters made from wheat. Even a scoopable variety. Crazy, I know. A bit pricey, though.