Clay Litter is great for cats but not good for the environment.
Natural Home (Jan 2005 - www.Naturalhomemagazine.com)reported that "1.5 million tons of clay are mined annually just to make kitty litter for the nation's 60 million felines (U.S.Bureau of Mines). Much of the clay is strip mined, which destroys land and habitat, and some experts kitty litter accounts for more waste in landfills than disposable diapers (EarthShare.org).
As an environmentalist who has been suggesting clay litter for the health of cats, I decided to do some research at http://www.madehow.com/Volume-2/Cat-Litter.html, I found the following:
"Cat litter made from wood, paper, grain, corncobs, citrus, and grass account for only 5% of today's market. The rest—about 95% of all cat litter—is clay based. Cat box fillers contain few ingredients, and the entire production process is performed by the manufacturers who mine, dry, and size their own clay.
Gathering the clay
* 1 Various kinds of clay are found through-out the United States, especially in Alabama, southern California, southern Illinois, eastern Kansas, Nevada, Oregon, southeastern Texas, and Wyoming. Clay is found approximately 30-40 feet (9-12 m) below the surface, and earth movers scoop it from open pits. The raw clay is then transported to the plant.
Drying
* 2 The clay is loaded onto conveyor belts and spilled into giant crushers. The crushers break the clay into smaller pieces, then deposit them onto another conveyor belt, which feeds the clay into a kiln.
* 3 The kiln resembles a horizontal chimney or sewer pipe, 100 feet (30 m) or more in length. Inside the kiln, where temperatures can reach 2000°F (1093°C), lifters tumble the clay as it bakes. The clay continues its baking process until it has traveled the entire length of the kiln.
* 4 As the clay emerges from the kiln, it is fed into a second crusher. Here, rollers crumble the clay to its final consistency.
Sorting
* 5 Next, the granules pass through an enclosed machine that contains a series of screens stacked one on top of another. Here, the various sizes of granules are sorted. Because litter is less absorbent when granules are the same size, the sorting process ensures that an assortment of sizes are represented.
* 6 Clumping litter, which are ground to a smaller size than conventional litter, are frequently blended with sodium bentonite, a naturally swelling clay known for its absorbent qualities. A dust-controlling agent is then added to the ground clay to prevent the dust, created when particles rub against one another, from becoming airborne. Most cat litter manufacturers also add deodorizers to prevent odors."
Not only the mining but the crushing and drying is using petroleum products.
Now we need some research on the energy costs of the more sustainable cat litters,
www.worldsbestcatlitter.com,
www.PineCatLitter.com,
www.yesterdaysnews.com,
pinepellets made for wood stoves
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