STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

jacL · Coach

An environmental question...

FashionPrincess · Hermes

I would consider that reusing, you know reduce, reuse, recycle. But I'm not a hard core environmentalist either, I just try to do what I can and be conscientious. I guess really the only other thing you could do is use paper bags instead, like those brown paper lunch ones but then you'd be buying them. And we also reuse our plastic bags as trash can liners and misc stuff.

Collette · Chanel

JacL, this is so weird I was thinking the exact same thing yesterday!

relrel · Marc Jacobs

I don't have a cat but I'm just gonna throw this suggestion out there, so take it with a very large grain of salt.

What about flushing it in the toilet? Depending on what type of litter you use, what about scooping it so that all that's collected on the scoop is uh, the offending item and then flushing that. Would that work?

But otherwise, I would say that reusing plastic bags that way does definitely count as a reuse!

luckylily · Gucci

There are some litters that are flushable, but you need to be really careful about it. If you go that route, make sure you are using a litter that specifically says it can be flushed. Also, if you are on septic rather than a city sewer system, your septic probably can't handle litter.

We tried a flushable litter about 6 months ago, but one of our three cats didn't take to it, so we had to switch back. For our litter box, I always put it in our regular garbage bags. When I need to empty the kitchen garbage, I basically just top it off w/ the cat poo and dirty litter. It might not be the best solution, but it has allowed me to at least reduce my use of plastic bags. I also really like the biodegradable animal waste bags pet stores carry. The ones I buy are like $4 for 50, so it is worth the expense to me.

gingembre1 · Kate Spade

I second luckylily's suggestion of the biodegradable pet waste bags. You can find them at Target, too.

kealoha · Kate Spade

this is something i'm trying to be better about. i use plastic shopping bags and try to fill it as much as possible before tossing. i need to hit target in search of these or something like them

Suasoria · Chanel

We use a flushable clumping litter called "Worlds Best Cat Litter," a name I hate, but I grudgingly admit it IS the best (we had to mix it into the usual litter a bit at a time to get the spoiled rotten cat to go along with the change).

I just use a scoop to put "solids" into the toilet, and the clumps of urine right into the trash. They don't smell bad, and I dump the bathroom trash every few days anyway. (We also have a trash can with a hinged lid, like a kitchen trash can, but smaller. That probably helps.)

Or the clumps can go into a compost pile or the yard waste can if your city collects it.

But I agree with Fash - it falls under "reuse." The only thing you could do that would be better is "reduce," figure out how to use less (or none) of them in the first place.

greendiamond · Marc Jacobs

DH takes care of the litter, but he scoops the waste into a bucket with a lid, then on trash day he pours it into the bag that goes to the curb.

Also, if your newspaper carrier uses plastic sleeves, these make nice baggies for disposal.