I noticed that this product has a new package, and I’m wondering if they’ve taken steps to solve the bug problem. Seems to me it should leave their facility bug free. As to what happens to it after it leaves their custody, perhaps they and the major retailers can work out a solution. As I said in my previous comment, I think it controls odors quite well as long as it is kept fresh and replenished at reasonable intervals. However, everybody’s mileage may vary, and other folks may have better luck with a different brand or type of litter.

With Aristocat, scooping twice a day (we have 3 cats), we find that the entire boxes can last 5 to 6 weeks. Eventually the number of tiny bits that fall through the scoop build up. Then we dump all of it out and replace the the entire boxful of litter.

With Feline Pine, the urine smell is obvious after only 3 to 4 weeks, even though we scrupulously clean the boxes before going to work and in the evening.

They have relatively little dust, no bugs ever (the very reason for pine sap’s smell is to repel bugs) and no harsh perfumes or chemicals.

Using these sawdust-based products seems to be more ecological to us than corn (which takes lots of fertilizer, diesel fuel and water to grow) or clay products (which have dust that is harmful to small lungs).

I suppose one could freeze the litter (and dry cat food, as those manufacturers also have problems with flour bugs) but that would go against the principal of expecting companies to work proactively to prevent flour bug infestations in their products.

The stuff is quite light weight, which makes it far easier to scoop through the box, and best of all it doesn’t stick the to pan. I absolutely hate having to deal with sticky residue at the bottom of the pan, so I love to death that this doesn’t do that. I scoop twice a day and it takes me less than 60 seconds to do it if I keep up with it. So much less of a chore than with clay litter. It is not as dust free as billed, although when fresh the dust is very low. The dust increases as the litter ages after many days of use and the individual granules begin to break down. Our cats have tracked every litter we’ve ever tried, so I don’t find this too objectionable, and yes there have been a few powdery pawprints left on things, but not too often. Because this litter is expensive I try to stretch its use to a month or more before completely emptying the box and changing it out for fresh. I believe there would be lest dust if I changed it more often, but this is a trade-off that works for us. My parents used pellet-style wheat and pine litters for their kittens, and I didn’t like it at all. Seemed like it took a lot more effort, and the pellets disintegrated into a yucky soggy much. The extra-strength WBCL, which is what we use, stays clumped together very firmly, with a lot less small, soiled particles getting loose in the pan than with other litters.

Regarding composting human and animal waste, there is no reason you can’t do it safely and successfully, however it is best to do some research, learn how to do it right and take appropriate precautions. The Humanure Book is a good place to start. If you decide to compost the litter box waste when using a compostable litter like WBCL, create a dedicated composter that is separate from your main kitchen-garbage composter. Locate it away from stream run-off, in an out of the way place, and plan on letting the composted litter age for a couple of years before using it in landscaping, not food crops. With these precautions, I don’t think you’d be at any more risk than you are already experiencing just by having a litter box in your home and maintaining it. I am also concerned about the reports of toxoplasmosis getting into the streams and affecting sea otters, but if you can prevent such runoff, there is no more risk than with putting it into a landfill. We haven’t yet tried composting it, but I intend to, mainly because it would reduce our garbage so much.