Plastic bags gone???

Minka said:

Hmm... if you were using biodegradable litter, you could just bury it somewhere...

Click to expand...

It is a shame, because my litter is corn based and probably bio-degradable. I don't think the family I live with would want me to bury it in their yard. Their dog would probably dig it up. Does anyone know of any cheap bio degradable bags?

smitten4kittens said:

It is a shame, because my litter is corn based and probably bio-degradable. I don't think the family I live with would want me to bury it in their yard. Their dog would probably dig it up. Does anyone know of any cheap bio degradable bags?

Click to expand...

Hmm, if it is, there MUST be a better solution to this! *determined*

I use World's best litter.

We don't want to put the litter directly into the bin especially since we are renting. The bin is on the side of the house which we put out once a week. We don't want it stinking up the yard. We did that at our old house and it got to be very unpleasant. Our garbage guys never get out of the truck. They have an arm that grabs the bin to dump it.

Catkiki said:

We don't want to put the litter directly into the bin especially since we are renting. The bin is on the side of the house which we put out once a week. We don't want it stinking up the yard. We did that at our old house and it got to be very unpleasant. Our garbage guys never get out of the truck. They have an arm that grabs the bin to dump it.

Click to expand...

Can you not wait till the end of the week to put it in the can so it doesn't stink everything up?
Although, I've never cared how my trashcan smells. It is a trashcan afterall...

Ours has to be bagged, l don't even own a garbage can. One guy drives and the other walks down the street flinging bags into the truck.

smitten4kittens said:

What is the difference (environmentally) if you throw away litter in a plastic grocery bag vs.a plastic bag you have to pay for? That would be the alternative. Neither are good for the environment...why not stick with the ones that I don't have to pay for?

Click to expand...

smitten4kittens said:

In your case it does make a difference. I use fabric bags at the store but my trash pick-up won't take loose litter straight from the trash can. I need a bag to put it in. So either way I am using a bag, whether it's free or 10 cents. Either way a bag will end up in a landfill. That was my point.  Even if i have to pay for them I will still use the same amount for litter purposes.

Click to expand...

This policy may not affect your bag use personally, but people are not just thinking about cat owners when they make the policies.  Yes, there is a big difference environmentally.  More people overall (not cat folks, but the everyday person who strictly uses plastic bags for grocery transportation and throws them away) would be disinclined to use plastic bags.  Thus, fewer are used and fewer end up in the environment.  I like to think that we can all agree that plastic bags are bad for the environment (whether or not the use is justified).  By charging people per bag, the number of bags used is significantly reduced, thus the environmental impact goes down.  Each individual bag may be just as harmful, but fewer are being produced and disposed of.  Plus, even with some cat owners it could make a difference.  I'd make darn sure that my litter bag was full before throwing it away if I was charged per bag, while I may only fill it halfway or use it for one scooping if I have an excess of bags from the grocery store.

Sure, the grocery bags just end up in landfills--but the second bag, the one you would have used to clean out the litter box if you hadn't used the empty grocery bag, doesn't. Either re-using grocery bags or not using them in the first place seems like the best bet.

I like the idea of paying for them or using re-usable bags, but I usually just get the plastic grocery bags precisely because they are so good for cleaning litter boxes. If I were just throwing them away, I would certainly be using reusable shopping bags. I already do, in some cases, especially for books from the used bookstore, because trying to carry books in a plastic bag is just a recipe for having them break through the bag before you get them home. In many situations, I just use my backpack--no bags required.

If you don't have enough plastic grocery bags, it's possible to buy small, cheap trash bags. I get them for $2 per 100-bag pack here. They are the ones you put in small office trash cans and I usually have a roll of bags sitting around for if I run out of grocery bags.

Other bags which can be used for kitty box cleaning include empty kibble bags, bags that used to hold bread and other foods, freezer bags you can't re-use (don't re-use bags you stored meat in, for example), and the bags that come around newspapers on rainy days. With so many bags available for free, I think I've had the same roll of just-in-case small trash bags around for the last two years.

The town next to me has instituted a plastic bag ban, and yes, I grocery shop at one of the stores there sometimes.

We use a Litter Locker.

I live in a city with a plastic bag ban.

It definitely takes a while to remember to put the bags in your car and bring them into the supermarket.

Anyway, I save other types of bags for litter scooping - like bags from bread, large ziplocks that aren't heavily soiled and bags that you put fresh produce in at the supermarket.

Also, If the kitchen trash is full, I'll scoop directly into the trash can and take it out immediately.

I never used the grocery store bags for litter because they tend to have holes, in my experience.

Callista said:

Other bags which can be used for kitty box cleaning include empty kibble bags, bags that used to hold bread and other foods, freezer bags you can't re-use (don't re-use bags you stored meat in, for example), and the bags that come around newspapers on rainy days. With so many bags available for free, I think I've had the same roll of just-in-case small trash bags around for the last two years.

Click to expand...

AbbysMom said:

We use a Litter Locker.

Click to expand...

Plastic bags have always had to be paid for at supermarkets here, so I just recycle used food and freezer bags and use a Litter Locker.

Very good idea Pam.
 

Ok folks, after reading the whole thread that I started.  We just have to do one thing to end this plastic bag problem and that is...TRAIN KITTY TO USE THE TOILET, we can flush for them tho.
 

Training kitty to use the toilet works great... if kitty wants to use the toilet.

What's a Litter Locker?

Callista said:

What's a Litter Locker?

Click to expand...

A Diaper Genie, under a different name, marketed to a different demographic . Still uses plastic though.

LaRussa said:

Ok folks, after reading the whole thread that I started.  We just have to do one thing to end this plastic bag problem and that is...TRAIN KITTY TO USE THE TOILET, we can flush for them tho.:lol3:

 

Click to expand...

Yup, you could
http://www.citikitty.com/

Maybe if they didn't charge so much for teeny tiny cloth bags, more people would use them.  I have a few, but not nearly enough if I'm doing a week's worth of shopping.  Why doesn't everyone just take the plastic bags back and recycle them?

As for the litter issue, I buy flushable so that's not a problem. 

Misty8723 said:

Maybe if they didn't charge so much for teeny tiny cloth bags, more people would use them.  I have a few, but not nearly enough if I'm doing a week's worth of shopping.  

Click to expand...

How much do they charge? Ours are the same size, if not a little larger than regular plastic shopping bags and only cost $1

missymotus said:

How much do they charge? Ours are the same size, if not a little larger than regular plastic shopping bags and only cost $1

Click to expand...

Around $2.50 or higher, for same size or smaller than plastic.

Huh, all the stores here have their 99 cent bags. And they hold a lot more than plastic bags (about the same size as a paper bag, I think). I wonder why they're so expensive and small in NC?

I usually remember mine when I go shopping, but not always.