Many cat owners have the impression that washable litter is more environmentally friendly than traditional alternatives; however, washable litter can cause damage to your pipes. From a broader perspective, the impact of the earth may be more common than people Think far-reaching.

Although this new-age product is definitely less smelly and more convenient than packing cat feces into an outdoor trash can every night, it may cause serious damage to your septic tank system and send harmful parasites into it. There is no water treatment plant. Pet garbage.

This is the scoop on "washable" cat litter and why it shouldn't be washed away.

Washable garbage is usually made of corn, wood, pine or wheat, so it is biodegradable—if you don’t put it in a plastic bag—and, according to its creator, it is also biodegradable. Washed away. Some corn and cassava ingredients provide excellent odor control without the use of artificial flavors, which are common in clay bedding. Some also clump, which makes it easier to remove urine and feces without having to empty the entire box.

Of course, the biggest advantage is that these garbage can be thrown into the toilet. Gone are the days of sending cat feces wrapped in plastic bags to landfills. Flushing clumps is definitely easier than obsolete scooping, bagging and garbage disposal. However, most are not as prone to clumping as non-washable cat litter. They may contain common cat allergens (corn, wheat) and tend to be more expensive.

Flushable litter is generally positioned as a sustainable alternative to clay litter, and this is the most common one. Some are lumpy, some are not. In particular, agglomerated litter is popular because it is easy to remove urine, because the litter absorbs liquid and produces water droplets that can be scooped out. The litter does not need to be replaced as often as the non-clumping litter; however, these clay-based garbage will eventually be thrown into the trash can, usually in plastic bags, and they will eventually be thrown into the landfill. , And cause other environmental problems.

Clay-based garbage does not decompose in the compost pile, and the clay itself usually comes from materials collected in open-pit mining in places such as Wyoming. In view of the absorbency of clay waste, it is not designed for flushing pipes.

Despite this promotion of garbage washing, washing is not always safe. According to Wild River Environmental, a national liquid waste management service, some are not even designed for septic tank systems, and some septic tank systems do not decompose materials such as cat feces and garbage at all, no matter what kind of garbage you use.

Even if you have confirmed that your septic tank system is compatible with flushable trash, it may not be recommended to flush it. Not waiting long enough between flushing the clumps will cause blockages. If you don’t break up the larger clumps before flushing-you will want to do it outside the trash can-you may face various orders. People hate questions.

In addition to your septic tank system, you also have toilets to worry about. Cat poop will quickly become dehydrated and hardened in the trash, so when you start to dig it, it has basically been petrified, and it is likely to cause blockage. More importantly, if you have a water-saving toilet, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says it can use as little as 1.28 gallons of water per flush, and it may not provide enough water to flush away cat poop and litter.

The EPA classifies pet excrement as a pollutant that can "harm fish and wildlife populations, kill native vegetation, pollute drinking water, and make entertainment venues unsafe and unpleasant."

Especially cat excrement may contain the parasite Toxoplasma gondii. Most water treatment plants are only designed to treat human waste-not animal feces, and definitely not parasites like Toxoplasma gondii. Adding garbage and cat feces will create more processing capacity for the treatment plant. If the pollutants are not treated, they will circulate in the water system and infect humans.

If humans are infected, they may develop parasitic infections with flu-like symptoms—pain, aches, fever—or they may develop toxoplasmosis, which can cause fetal development disorders, vision loss, and brain damage , Premature birth, and death. Although many people can deal with Toxoplasma gondii, it is especially dangerous for people with compromised immune systems.

The spread of this parasite can also affect wildlife. Scientists have discovered Toxoplasma gondii pollution in coastal areas, infecting marine mammals including sea otters. The possible source is—you guessed it—cat feces flushed from the toilet.

Toilet flushable waste has its advantages, but it also has many disadvantages, both at the economic level and the environmental level. Finding a way to balance these—perhaps by disposing of washable garbage in a less polluting way—may be the key to becoming an environmentally friendly cat parent.

The most environmentally friendly way to dispose of cat litter is to first put urine blocks and feces into biodegradable bags, then throw them into the trash can, and then compost the rest of the uncontaminated parts. Please note that you do not want to put cat feces or cat litter that may contain cat feces into the compost so that it can be used as plant fertilizer in the future. However, trash that does not contain waste and is made from pine trees, recycled newspapers, or grass seeds can be added to compost piles away from waterways and edible gardens.

If you live near a watercourse, bucket composting—as opposed to underground composting—may be your only option. One disadvantage of composting in a bucket is limited space. However, this may be sufficient for single cat households or simply offsetting the amount of waste going to landfills.

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