I ALWAYS think that consumers have a tough time trying to decide how to choose the most environmentally friendly version of any product.
The myriad of different choices can sometimes bamboozle rather than inform.
Regular readers of this column may remember me trying to demystify some of the labelling schemes in the past.
But how do you decide on the relative merits of prod
ucts designed to tackle the same problem and yet are made from completely different materials?
You will no doubt be aware of the ongoing debate on real versus disposable nappies, but what about another product that almost always ends up in landfill sites; cat litter.
Most users of cat litter will, at some point, have had a look at the different choices available to try to make an informed decision.
Do you go for the biodegradable kind, litter that clumps or just conventional sand/clay-based litter?
The final choice will probably be based on what is the most effective rather than the most environmentally-friendly, since the latter is no good if it doesn't actually work properly.
Cat litter has been around for about 80 years and originally people used sand for this purpose.
However, sand is not particularly absorbent and could be tracked around the house easily.
When clay-based litter was invented in the late 1940s, it had the advantage of being more absorbent and much cleaner to use.
Clay-based litter soon became the product of choice, and in the mid 1950s, clumping litters were developed.
Bentonite clay, the active ingredient of clumping litter, is found in large quantities in the Redhill area of Surrey and the many quarries in that area are testament to the popularity of clumping cat litter.
Despite the usefulness of clumping cat litter, many cat owners are concerned about the disposal of large quantities of material that will end up in landfill sites.
Some owners are also concerned about the health effects of clumping cat litter on their cats.
Ingestion of this kind of cat litter can lead to problems with digestion as the material will swell inside the cat digestive tract.
Biodegradable litters are often used as an alternative and are usually made from materials that would otherwise be considered waste products from other manufacturing processes.
Corn cobs, recycled newspapers, pellets made from wood waste and even orange peel are all used as biodegradable alternatives.
Biodegradable litters can theoretically be flushed into the sewage system, although this practice is unlikely to be encouraged by sewage treatment companies due to the fears of parasitic contamination.
Toxoplasma gondii, the parasite found in cat faeces, has been linked to the death of marine mammals as it survives the sewage treatment process.
Still confused?
Perhaps the best option appears to be using a combination of biodegradable cat litter and dedicated composting bins available from specialist websites.
This is not an option for the faint-hearted and I suspect will only be of real interest to the most dedicated of "greenies".
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