Little Milo has become a fearsome predator. His latest victim: a tiny pom pom owl my son made a couple years ago. Because the pieces are so short, I can’t really reuse them. And because the yarn’s acrylic (i.e. made of plastic), it can’t be composted. So these will be added to my textile recycling box so they can be repurposed into carpets or insulation.
Next time, I’ll look for yarns made with 100% natural fibers (like wool, mohair, cotton and alpaca) that won’t contribute to plastic pollution and that can be composted at the end of their life. I never realized how polluting craft projects can be. My son and I love making things, so we’re going to have to rethink the materials we use so we’re not creating more trash …
poor owlie! you can also use the “dead yarn” as stuffing!
Yes, good point!
This comment is not about the acrylic yarn, but about your cat, Milo. What do you feed Milo? How do you have a zero waste pet? This from a currently catless cat lover.
Hi, Lynn! I was feeding Milo raw food (frozen patties separated by butcher paper in a thin plastic bag and cardboard box). Next I’m going to try Wellness Natural Pet Food because they have a TerraCycle recycling program for the packaging: https://www.terracycle.com/en-US/brigades/wellnesspetfood. I’ll let you know how it goes! I haven’t started him on the Wellness kitten food yet since I’m still using up the vet-recommended kitten food I bought the week I brought him home. Because I wasn’t planning on getting a kitten, I hadn’t done my research on cat food so that bag is from Science Diet and not recyclable 🙁 Let me know if you have any other questions!
Hi,
My biggest garbage item is cat litter.
What do you do about cat litter?
Best wishes.
Hi, Sylvie! I use a compostable cat litter called Yesterday’s News, which is made from recycled newspapers. It’s very easy to find at pet stores or a vet clinics. It comes in a paper bag, which is also recyclable. I scoop the litter and take it to a separate compost pile in my backyard just for cat litter (I won’t be using the compost in my garden). After I scoop, I sprinkle the litter box with baking soda to help with odors. Let me know if you have any other questions! 🙂
Hi,
Thanks very much for your suggestion. Sadly, Yesterday’s News isn’t going to work for us. It gets soggy very quickly and despite the baking soda it stinks. But I’m curious to know how you dispose of the cat litter compost if you don’t use it in your garden.
All the best!
I don’t plan on using the cat litter compost in my vegetable garden (in other words, not where I’m growing food), but I will use it in other areas, for example, around landscaping, to fill in low spots in the yard, etc. 🙂 Hope that helps!