I’ve had a feline companion most of my life, which means I’ve done my fair share of buying and disposing of cat litter – and scooping, so much scooping.

If you are familiar, like me, with the cat litter market, you will be aware that there are a multitude of options out there proclaiming their respect merits, which may include being the most absorbent, having the best odour control, being flushable, compostable, low dust, the gentlest on paws, etc, etc.

Faced with so many options, how are we to make the most eco-friendly choice for our beloved, waste producing fur babies? Actually, there is a lot of information out there examining the eco-credentials of litters so I have set out to summarise the key points for the most common types available in your local supermarket.

By far the most common type of litter – and the cheapest – is clay. In the US, research indicates that 75% of the cat litters in the market use bentonite clay. Unfortunately, clay is one of the least environmentally friendly litters and that is a result of how it is derived, which is typically from strip (surface) mining. Strip mining harms the local environment and ecosystems and can contaminate ground water.

The clay must then be transported and baked, which is resource intensive, and clay can’t be flushed and is also not biodegradable or compostable so will ultimately end up in landfill. On top of those cons, many clumping clay litters also contain silica which can be harmful to your cat’s health.

Crystal litters are also very common on the supermarket shelves and are also pretty unfriendly to the environment. For a start, most crystal litter is derived from a non-renewable resource (silica dioxide from quartz) that needs to be mined and the production process is fuel intensive. Then, they can’t be flushed plus they aren’t biodegradable, so – like clay – are destined to linger in landfill.

So, they are the ones to avoid. When we look at the rest of the supermarket cat litter market, most other options have some eco-merit. The most common substates for eco-friendlier litter are wood based (renewable, biodegradable, compostable), soy or wheat fibres (clumping, renewable, biodegradable and compostable), plant based, like corn or walnut (clumping, sustainable, renewable biodegradable, compostable), and recycled paper (biodegradable, compostable, sustainable).

Clumping litters are easier on the environment as being able to remove the clumps of waste regularly means the litter lasts longer, but really any of these options are a better choice for the environment and for our felines.

If you don’t want to buy litter, you can also make your own from waste materials, like sawdust or old shredded newspapers or you can train your cat to use the loo, à la Mr Jinx in Meet the Parents.

Two quick notes. First, while many of the eco-friendly litters are compostable, care needs to be taken when composting cat waste. Some pointers are available here. Second, the jury is out on whether cat litter should be flushed.

There is strong view that because cat waste can contain Toxoplasma gondii it should not be introduced to our waterways and instead it should be wrapped in biodegradable bags and thrown away with our rubbish, however some councils recommend that pet waste be flushed to keep it out of the bin system. Personally, I am choosing to err on the side of caution and not flush.

Planet Ark does not take responsibility for the accuracy of the original information and encourages readers to check the references before using this information for their own purposes.