Recyling small pet waste.

[r04DiE]

Hello all,

Eldest has always wanted pets, and we recently moved house and it seemed like a good time to get some for her. Not an easy move for her so we thought it might smooth things out. It did, we are all very happy with our two rabbits, play with them every day and and it has given eldest a real sense of responsibility.

Now, I'd like to do something with the waste sawdust, hay, straw, poo that doesn't involve lobbing it in the non-recycling waste. Does anybody on here compost the stuff, or similar?

Thanks!

 

[Drago]

Incinerate it a couple of times a year?

 

[r04DiE]

I'd rather recycle it.

 

[Drago]

Fair play, although the ash is good for the soil if dug in.

 

[Seevio]

Bear in mind that even though pet waste goes in non-recyclable waste, that's only to stop potential contamination of other recyclables. The pet waste itself is still organic so even if it does go into landfill it's still going to compost itself.

 

[r04DiE]

Bear in mind that even though pet waste goes in non-recyclable waste, that's only to stop potential contamination of other recyclables. The pet waste itself is still organic so even if it does go into landfill it's still going to compost itself.

Yes, that is true but it is filling up my bin too quickly and I thought I might be able to get rid of it in-house and perhaps at the benefit of the garden, too.

 

[Beebo]

We have two rabbits. All our stuff goes in the garden waste bin. With the grass clippings

 

[r04DiE]

We have two rabbits. All our stuff goes in the garden waste bin. With the grass clippings

Nice - forgive my ignorance though; is that a compost bin and I also have lots of other questions about rabbits. You might regret this...

 

[biggs682]

The poo could go in dog poo bins once bagged

 

[Beebo]

Nice - forgive my ignorance though; is that a compost bin and I also have lots of other questions about rabbits. You might regret this...

We have a garden waste bin that the council empties every 2 weeks.
I don’t know if you can compost the waste.

 

[Tail End Charlie]

You can compost it if you mix with grass clippings, although the sawdust would take a while to break down properly. If applied fresh to the garden it would deplete the soil of nitrogen.
There's no reason it can't go into your green bin either.

 

[Amanda P]

Of course, compost it! There’s nothing inorganic in it, and what do you imagine happens to wild rabbits’ poo?

Big drifts of coarse sawdust might take a while to break down in a compost heap, but the finely-milled stuff that’s usually sold for animal cages and hutches will be fine, especially if you mix it up well with lots of different waste, or use one of those tumbling bins.

Rabbit poo isn’t even smelly and doesn’t harbour anything much that could make humans unwell - unlike dog or cat poo. Just don’t eat it.

 

[fossyant]

4 cats and we use the wood pellet litter. Would like to know same as we flush poop down the loo, and used litter in non-recycling, but its just damp sawdust.

 

[Amanda P]

I’d compost the sawdust, Fossy. If you don’t have a big compost heap and have a compostable waste bin, read the rules carefully: animal waste is often banned - and in some places the collectors do check and reject stuff that they think is contaminated. Cat pee is quite... well, detectable.

This may be justified - industrial-scale composting needs quick decomposition to keep the bulk of stuff being handled to reasonable proportions, and it can be slowed by some substances, which, for all I know, may include cat pee. Your little contribution would probably make no differences, but there are lots of cats and if everyone does it....

 

[simon the viking]

Our council still say herbivore waste can still go in brown bin.. (but banned food waste) so thats where it goes... But cant see that ruling lasting much longer.. Clipboard weilding jobsworthers.....