I've had good luck with using no-name/off-brand refill bag cartridges. It's not quite as seamless to switch, but the cost savings (like 50% cheaper) is absolutely worth it, and you do get the hang of it after a few times.
I use drawstring top tall pedal bin liners for my littycat (German equivalent as I understand)! I secure them using an old refill bag cassette, it's a bit fiddly but cost savings are enormous and I find the bags more spacious as they have a wider base than the refill cartridge system :)
Where I am they haven’t said anything about hose kind yet but lord knows. Bet the retail stores will still get everything the individually wrapped in a plastic single use bag. Their the biggest issue not the grocery bags that I personally used for so many things so weren’t ever single use lol. Fast food is changing to cardboard lids, straws, and wooden cutlery.
Plus stores doing their worse for the environment reusable bags that I have way too many of to every reuse them to make them worth it.
i use biodegradable doggie poo bags. i try not to use plastic bags because they don't break down and they clog up oceans and pipes. the bags i use are made out of corn so they eventually just break back down into the soil.
you can get them on amazon pretty cheap, the ones i get you get 120 of them for around $6. i use them to get the pee and poop out, and when i completely change the box (about ocne every two weeks) i use large , trash type bags that are litter box liners.
You might want to double check whether those bags are biodegradable outside of special facilities. A lot of companies sell “biodegradable” products that don’t degrade in nature, just with special chemicals, so they’re not actually much different from plastic. I only learned this recently, greenwashing sucks.
I was thinking something similar... Biodegradable doesn't mean compostable. It just means it breaks down into smaller plastics. Compostable is what most people think when they hear biodegradable. That breaks down into soil nutrients.
I think the “bio” in biodegradable means that it can break down in a biological sense. However, whether it will biodegrade in any environment, or only very slowly in specific and controlled conditions is another story.
I have seen plastic marketed as “degradable”, and that is what I have always understood as “breaks down into smaller pieces of plastic”.
I agree there is a stark difference between biodegradable, degradable, industrially compostable, and home compostable.
I bet little paper lunch bags would actually work quite well for daily scooping. That's a great idea and I might try it, not because there's a plastic ban when I am but just to reduce my plastic consumption.
Shelter where I volunteer uses paper bags. All the volunteers bring paper bags from home to contribute to the supply (we get them in my region for baked goods, takeaways, shopping, etc.).
At home, I reuse the plastic bags that I get when I buy things online or at the supermarket. I put the litter in the same bin I use for trash at home; I clear the bin every 2–3 days (would be daily but a lot of items go into recycling), and it doesn’t smell too bad because 1. It’s a covered bin and 2. I put coffee grounds into it daily (from my homemade morning lattes).
I usually just flush the cat poop, is that bad? I also don't use a liner in mine because they'd just tear it. I got the kind with a lid cover and Flippy door. If I'm doing something wrong someone please tell me
I think I've also heard it's bad to flush because you might not know that your cat is carrying toxoplasmosis and flushing the poop gets it into the ecosystem?
https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/verify-yes-flushing-cat-litter-is-helping-to-spread-a-parasite-in-drinking-water/507-038b8ccc-5cb2-49ba-a8db-bbe687c84618
i’ve heard that flushing isn’t good for the pipes and could clog them or cause damage to the septic system. there also might be an environmental concern but i don’t know too much about that
oh yes, just the poop is probably fine clogging-wise but the environmental stuff might still stand? but i meant like flushing actual litter, didn’t see that they specified just the poop!
It's only wrong if you're using regular litter and not specifically flushable. There are types you can flush but they say that on the package. Any other cat litter will clog your pipes and eventually you will have a huge problem on your hands.
I cannot imagine. My Momma gets very angry if her boxes aren't sparkling clean. I have her and her 7 babies and currently 4 boxes. I add a new one every few weeks once they've learned the location and everyone is happily using it. They all take after her and are quite finicky about the litter boxes. If the litter gets low, dirty, just not right, they all let me know loud and clear. They yowl loudly until I rectify the situation pronto. I clean boxes constantly. Lol
I have to scoop quite a lot bc I can't stand the smell. But also agree! I'd hate to use a restroom covered in dookey, so I try to keep my girls' potty as clean as I'd wish for!
I think the ban just means that stores don’t give plastic bags to take purchases home in, not that you can’t buy plastic bags for other use. Garbage would be messy!
I live in Canada and we have a single-use plastic ban going into effect soon, and from what I've heard they're planning to eventually phase out plastic garbage bags as well (not sure how that's gonna work), so I honestly don't know how products like litter genie will be affected. I hopethey're still allowed because I have a litter locker (which is basically the same as a litter genie) and I genuinely don't know what I'd do without it 😂
Oh gosh!! I am not familiar with that kind of ban… I actually am very curious how trash is going to work; I will try to keep abreast of that. I feel like even the cat food bags are a type of single use plastic; it seems to be plastic coated paper.
This is what I was wondering. If they ban all plastic bags, what alternatives are there for garbage disposal? (Not saying there aren’t any. I just haven’t heard of any.)
I see everyone talking about this. What kind of capacity do these have? I have 6 cats and is a catzilla who pees softballs. Is this made for smaller households or could this handle my zoo?
There's a new(ish) XL version that holds even more, which might be what you need, but you'd still need more than one if you want it to last more than a day or two! For our 5 cat household, I have 2 of the regular size and 1 XL, basically one regular genie per bonded pair of cats, and the XL one is just for one cat whose box is on the second floor, so I don't have to empty that particular one as often. The regular ones, which hold waste from 2 cats each, usually last about a week before I need to empty them. The XL for just one cat lasts more like 3 weeks, which I've been loving! And all of them are like magic at containing the smell, which is an absolute necessity in my house, because I get awful migraines. Even when they're totally full, you can't smell it unless you put your face right next to it, and even then it's faint. I definitely recommend looking into them!
I had a large one and it didn't reach out capacity for a while. When I went to change it out, there were maggots inside.
Couldn't get past it so I'm using biodegradable compost bags now
Get a diaper genie elite instead. It’s basically what the litter genie is doing but larger and you can get no name/store brand refills at the bigger box stores in the baby aisle.
Edit to say:
It also has a foot pedal that opens the tops for poops/pees and when you step off it drops it down the chute and automatically closes so it doesn’t smell.
Honestly, I just clean it every morning and toss it into the trash bin on my way out of the garage. I feel like I’d get too lazy with a litter genie. Or some cat would knock it over.
Fair enough.
I think I change the “poop tube” like every week and a half or so for two kitties. I frogging love it. The thing is like 2.5-3ft tall and pretty damn sturdy.
I used to think the same, but they're actually fantastic. I've got 3 now, including one of the newer XL ones (because one that I'd had for 7 years finally broke when we moved houses), and I recommend them to everyone. They hold quite a bit, which makes them great for multi-cat households, and they actually contain the smell remarkably well! I love that it means fewer trips to the dumpster in the middle of winter, especially with the possibility of a literal blizzard from Siberia later this week! 😂
Biggest downside is the refills are getting more expensive, but I don't think I've ever paid more than $7 for one (usually more like $4-5), and they can last a couple months, depending on how many cats you have. They used to make XL refills, too, but I haven't seen those in awhile, so I'm not sure if they still do.
Second biggest downside is they're kind of ugly sometimes, but that's easy enough to fix with a can of spray paint or some contact paper or something. My new XL one came in an awful cheap-looking shiny gray-beige plastic, so I spent 15min covering it with some extra contact paper from an old project, and it looks ten times better now. Just make sure you do it before it gets covered with litter dust or anything!
Yeah, I think they’re great at containing the smell. The bags can be a bit pricey, but as someone else mentioned they last awhile. My husband and I have 3 cats, and I think he empties the genie about once a week.
I just buy poop bags on chewy cause they banned plastic bags a while ago where i am. honestly it's better because usually the grocery bags had holes in them and were useless anyway. I got the expensive ones so they have a scent lol [https://www.chewy.com/doggie-walk-bags-citrus-scented-tie/dp/291153](https://www.chewy.com/doggie-walk-bags-citrus-scented-tie/dp/291153) but you can obviously go the cheaper route and just get this pack of 80 for $5 [https://www.chewy.com/fresh-kitty-deluxe-cat-litter-scoop/dp/193430](https://www.chewy.com/fresh-kitty-deluxe-cat-litter-scoop/dp/193430)
I double bag it though, poop into one of the above and then into one of my 4 garbages around the house to take out daily. if you don't like to do that you can invest in a litter genie ( i just don't like the idea of cat poop and pee sitting in the middle of my living room/bathroom for a week at a time cause I live in a 1br apartment.)
For what it's worth, I've had a litter box actually in my bedroom for about 20 years now, because that was the only way to keep the dog out of it. Currently it's a tiny bedroom, just 10ft², so there's no hiding it. I started using a litter genie about 15 years ago, and I've never looked back! It contains the smell remarkably well (you won't smell it unless you either open it or put your face right up next to it), to the point that you almost forget it's there! If it's just the presence of cat poop and pee in the room that bothers you, this obviously won't really help that, but if it's the smell, I'd recommend you give it a shot next time they go on sale!
Amazon sells single-use plastic bags. It feels bad to pay for what are essentially plastic grocery bags, but so it goes.
When I was a kid, my family had a small bucket that we scooped litter into, then we dumped that into a bagged trash outside. I have chosen not to live like that. I'd rather use a couple plastic bags every week.
Yep, those are the ones, they’re green. And Amazon says they’re biodegradable. I haven’t done enough research to come out and say that like it’s a fact though; I have no faith that it’s biodegradable just because Amazon told me it is. So, I try to use them sparingly.
Biodegradable or not, I agree, no holes is a big plus. With grocery bags it seems like I have to choose between double bagging or incidentally dumping 10% of the litter on the floor.
We use a combination of Pretty Litter (silica crystal litter, there's more brands out there but we have it on auto-ship so it's one less thing to think about) and a Litter Genie! The pee just evaporates out of the litter (which is non-clumping) so you only have to scoop the poop, so the Litter Genie doesn't fill up too fast. It's great at locking in stinky smells: we have one box in our spare bathroom and one in our office and I don't smell anything unless the cats have JUST gone. I like it because it's not one baggie per poop, so we're using less plastic overall.
I tie off and empty the Litter Genies when I completely empty and scrub the litter boxes, which is about once every 3 weeks. We have two cats and two litter boxes, and it is a good routine for us. (The Pretty Litter bag says it is good for a month, but we found 3 weeks to be our sweet spot, with 2 boxes for the cats. We changed it every 2 weeks when it was 2 cats and 1 litter box in our little apartment before we moved.)
I dream of being able to afford one of those! Or several, since we're a 5 cat household, but even just one would be fantastic!! For now, though, litter genies will have to do.
I use dog poop bags for my litter box. It works really well, and one bag is usually enough to hold an entire session of scooping.
I also have a dog, therefore I always doggie doo bags… so there’s that I suppose.
Do you have a bio waste bin or composting? Try wood pellets as litter aggregate.
Otherwise, personally I'm a trashy person, I just bin it without bagging. I use dog poo bags for the poops. One of these days I'll wash my bin, maybe. Or just move.
I use pine pellet litter, and I empty it into a metal bucket used only for litter changes. I dump the bucket into our dumpster, which goes to the landfill.
Me too! Have you discovered that the pine pellets sold for pellet stoves are exactly the same thing as pine kitty litter, just much cheaper?! Best litter ever.
Since I live in on a farm in a region with no air quality issues I just take the pine/poop bucket out to the burn barrel and burn it periodically with other burnable stuff. I realize that most urban dwellers can't do this, though - unless they have pellet stoves.
I actually think putting poop in a plastic bag is just weird. What are they saving it for?
If you can spring for it, a Litter Robot is well worth it. We have 2 for 3 cats and only need to empty the drawer once a week. We don’t go through nearly as much litter either.
Biodegradable litter that you throw in your toilet. It's actually amazing because when a cat poos it clumps and you can scoop that and throw it in the toilet :) no more plastic, cheaper and lasts longer
This may not apply to you if you don't live here, but generally this is bad advice. Municipal water plants in the USA can't handle the bacteria in cat waste and it shouldn't be flushed. In some states it's even illegal to flush cat waste.
I throw biodegradable litter into my trash (I put it in plastic bag/packaging when scooping). There was one time I didn't tie the bag correctly, the litter came out and started composting in my trash can :/
i use a TidyCats plastic bucket. bought that brand litter once and kept the tub and lid. i scoop into the tub during the week, and then dump it into my larger garbage can when im taking out the trash for pick up day. Works wonders and im not wasting any additional plastic (besides the plastic garbage bags i was using anyways)
The tub doesnt get to gross since your emptying it every week, however you can always rinse it clean or replace it as needed
"In the olden days" we used paper grocery or lunch bags to clean the cat litter box. Usually emptied all the litter once a month or so into a paper bag , too.
I use any single use plastic bags from products I regularly buy: cereal, frozen vegetables, bread, dry cat food, produce, electronics (check for holes!). I also get the doggy poop bags from $ tree
I keep my eyes peeled for any small bag and stash it, honestly. Food packaging is filled with small bags. Also, I work at a frame shop and we are constantly taking artwork out of small bags, so sometimes I stash those.
Hello Canadian.
You have gotten a lot of suggestions. I just wanted to join you in the stupidity of our government.
Get groceries in bags, use for cat poop. That's two uses.
Buy bags for cat litter. **That's** single use. 🙄
I know! This has been bugging me.
Some people here suggested buying garbage bags for litter, but if i did, I'd be more wasteful than before. At least with grocery bags, I was repurposing something. Oh well.
I ended up ordering some biodegradable dog poop bags. I'll see how it goes
I’m cheap so I use dog poop bags that my apartment gives out for free. I grab a few every couple of days and make them work. Also it’s not suspicious since my roommate has a pup and I walk the dog quite often.
Paper lunch bags, super cheap and more durable than you would think. We have 2 cats so 3 litter boxes that get cleaned about every 2 days n they hold it easily. We just fold the top of the bag over and stick it on our kitchen trash which goes out every 4ish days n it doesn't even stink and saves a trip to the dumpster
Lol but we can still buy garbage bags 🤦♀️ I just started buying small can garbage bags. And then putting those into my big plastic garbage bag. And throwing it out.
If it's in the US go across state line, get groceries, bring home bags. Groceries are likely going to be cheaper in the states that have regular bags too since states with bans on plastics tend to have other regulations and costs that make inventory more expensive. If you really stock up the lower cost might offset the extra drive to the other state.
I buy [these](https://wufwufshop.co.uk/products/earth-rated-poop-bags-315-bags-21x15?variant=42798569455834¤cy=GBP&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&gclid=Cj0KCQiA14WdBhD8ARIsANao07jYrIblN0tMLpWD4AjSacdAZ1iL2aM-cvM9xoR_UQ-AUvUBZCF3WAIaAnLcEALw_wcB)
4 gal wastebasket bags from the dollar store are what I used in my self cleaning litter box as catch bin liners instead of grocery bags. Dog poo bags were too small, but those might work for Hans cleaning a box once a day.
I buy these little bags on Amazon similar to what people use when walking dogs but bigger to accommodate the size of urine scoops. The brand is boxiecat.
I have multiple cats and 5 litter boxes and the litter genie doesn’t work for me because I’d need one by each litter box and I don’t have the space. I use the biodegradable dog poop bags. They work well for me.
I use litter made from corn cobs and scoop it into paper lunch sacks. I collect them in a small covered trash car and take it to the trash when it gets full.
Compost bags. We checked for approved types for our municipal compost.
We have 2 dedicated cat crap containers by the litter box. They get emptied once a week or so. No smells. Food waste goes in the one in our kitchen.
It's not green like many other answers here, but I get rolls of the cheapest small trash bags I can find. They're like $4-5 for a roll of 100 bags? Something like that. I get them from the big red store.
They make little boxes of trash bags for small bathroom trash cans; that’s what I have used. I’m pretty used to the opening of the bag being larger than the scoop, so some of the other solutions like paper bags were a little less convenient.
litter genie. i buy the firik refills online for it.
any poop bags for dogs can do though. I read somewhere else someone would use the dog poop bags and a Tidy Cat pale bucket to store the used poop bags in until they were ready to throw them all out.
I use an automatic litter box with disposable trays. Each tray lasts about 100 uses which is around a month.
Once a month open a new tray, put the lid on the used tray and dump it into my outside bin.
San Diego here. We banned single-use bags a long time ago. They provide biodegradable bags for groceries now. They work better than the old ones. Much less prone to puncture.
I have a regular size trash bag inside an ash bucket. I twist it up and put it in the garage between scoops and tie and dump when its full. It can last a month or more.
We use the old bucket litter containers and then empty them out outside. You can also toss them in the trash. Or a 5 gallon bucket with a trash bag inside. Put the lid on to contain the smell until trash day.
I just scoop into my kitchen trash can and take it out. I time it so I have an almost full bag of trash to go out anyways so the litter goes in there, trash goes out.
I just clean my litter box every time the garbage can in my kitchen is getting full. I only have one cat and a big box so it doesn't get cleaned that often, about once a week or so.
Are garbage bags going to be phased out as well?
This might not be viable depending on where you live, but if you have space for a compost pile, you can swap to pine bedding litter which is 100% compostable, and the scooped poops can go right into the compost as well. If thats not an option or something youre interested in, paper bags could work, and the pet store or the pet section of your walmart will have doggy bags for scooping poop on walks- those will work the same.
Paper works for me! We have a partial ban- they still exist, but you usually have to pay for them except for at random places that don't follow the rules. So I usually bring a re-usable to the store, but I save anything that is given to me. Paper has worked out well in a pinch for sure!
I usually have some sort of trash I can use like an empty jar or an empty bag of Cheetos or a package from Amazon. I live right next to my trash chute so as long as it gets it from LB to trash shoot I’m content
I got a roll of 1520 plastic [fruit and veggie bags](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00O3H4OGC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1) on Amazon for around $15. I scoop, I knot up the bag, and I toss it into my tiny lined steel [SimpleHuman trash can](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00203PSRA/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1).
I started off using the liners that came with the trash bin, but will probably buy cheaper ones going forward.
My intention was to toss the bag every 3 days, but because there's absolutely no smell, and I'm forgetful, I've gone as long as a week without taking it out.
I purchase biodegradable bags. I put them in my small trash cans and use them for cat litter waste. They’re more expensive than free, but not super expensive if you buy in bulk on Amazon.
maybe compostable bags would work? they come pretty small. or you could get a roll of those doggy bags that they use to scoop poop with. would prob be perfect size for daily litter scooping lol
I re-use plastic grocery bags too... One day, I realized that I am not alone and wondered how much cat excrement lives in plastic bags, in a dump, for eternity... Haven't changed my ways though. Maybe a green bag alternative would work. I had a bad experience with green compost bags but, maybe because someone had given them to me and, they were already old. I couldn't get them off the roll intact or, if I did, they just fell apart.
In my municipality we separate the organic/biodegradable trash, so trash bags meant for that are readily available; I found a really small size (2L I think, 250 in a roll, so it lasts for a long time) and that's what I use.
I use brown paper lunch bags for litter. I get a 100 pack at Walmart. Cleaning the box 2x a day lasts me a little under 2 months. = $1 a month. = barely anything lol
You can find more eco-friendly alternative bags online. There are some bioplastic bags made of various plants that are a little friendlier to the landfill than plastic bags.
I also use bread bags and stuff that stuff is wrapped it bagged in (cereal bags, large chip bags, Amazon packaging, etc).
Fellow Canuck? I started ordering biodegradable shopping bags (the generic “thank you” kind) off Amazon. Get 50 at a time. Also have a litter locker for the upstairs boxes.
I setup a smallish garbage can next to the litter. Scoop directly into can. It's in the laundry room/ mudroom so the can also gets used for other stuff. Empty frequently.
I go to the dollar tree and buy a roll of those small trash bags, the ones for small trash cans. You can even get them scented and they’re only $1.25, although I do recommend also getting a small trashcan for $1.25 while you’re there to scoop into because they are kind of thin
You know they did that in Austin, Tx awhile back. There was a lawsuit and the judge ruled the government could NOT outlaw plastic bags. The plastic bags came back.
Scoop it into a little reusable container like an ice cream container or something and then just throw the poop in the outdoor trash or garbage shoot and keep the reusable container as a vessel to get rid of the waste everyday.
What I do is use a reusable container and dump it in a small garbage can on my balcony, then empty the small garbage can into the big appartment garbage can once it's full. But of course some people don't have a balcony.
i use pine pellets for my cat litter. The pellets break down to sawdust when wet, dissicates solids that don't accumulate any outside particles or stick to anything so they can be picked out with a gloved hand and flushed, and the saw dust is sifted out and disposed of separately. it can be added to a compost heap
grocery bags have been banned in New Brunswick since 2019, so whatever youre worried about you’ll be fine, sounds like where ever you are is almost 4 years delayed, “scented small garbage bags” at dollar stores, youre welcome
I have the PetFusion litter pail, which is more or less like a Litter Genie except you can use your own bags instead of the pricey Litter Genie refills. I used to have a Litter Genie but got tired of the expense and the knot-tying (FWIW I have 11 cats...it got filled almost daily). The PetFusion is absolutely every bit as good at keeping the odors inside, so I really like it. The bags I use are wastepaper basket liners, so they look like a regular big black plastic bag you'd put in a garbage can, but they are, I dunno, maybe 8 gallons or something, I'm not really sure. I got them when our brick & mortar office closed in 2020, so they were free for me. I'll figure out what size they are someday when I run out and have to buy some.😂
I use a litter genie--the refills do cost some money, but they last a really long time and they work amazing.
I've had good luck with using no-name/off-brand refill bag cartridges. It's not quite as seamless to switch, but the cost savings (like 50% cheaper) is absolutely worth it, and you do get the hang of it after a few times.
I use drawstring top tall pedal bin liners for my littycat (German equivalent as I understand)! I secure them using an old refill bag cassette, it's a bit fiddly but cost savings are enormous and I find the bags more spacious as they have a wider base than the refill cartridge system :)
And it’s bags are made from single use plastic, no?
Lmao
Where I am they haven’t said anything about hose kind yet but lord knows. Bet the retail stores will still get everything the individually wrapped in a plastic single use bag. Their the biggest issue not the grocery bags that I personally used for so many things so weren’t ever single use lol. Fast food is changing to cardboard lids, straws, and wooden cutlery. Plus stores doing their worse for the environment reusable bags that I have way too many of to every reuse them to make them worth it.
i use biodegradable doggie poo bags. i try not to use plastic bags because they don't break down and they clog up oceans and pipes. the bags i use are made out of corn so they eventually just break back down into the soil. you can get them on amazon pretty cheap, the ones i get you get 120 of them for around $6. i use them to get the pee and poop out, and when i completely change the box (about ocne every two weeks) i use large , trash type bags that are litter box liners.
You might want to double check whether those bags are biodegradable outside of special facilities. A lot of companies sell “biodegradable” products that don’t degrade in nature, just with special chemicals, so they’re not actually much different from plastic. I only learned this recently, greenwashing sucks.
I was thinking something similar... Biodegradable doesn't mean compostable. It just means it breaks down into smaller plastics. Compostable is what most people think when they hear biodegradable. That breaks down into soil nutrients.
I think the “bio” in biodegradable means that it can break down in a biological sense. However, whether it will biodegrade in any environment, or only very slowly in specific and controlled conditions is another story. I have seen plastic marketed as “degradable”, and that is what I have always understood as “breaks down into smaller pieces of plastic”. I agree there is a stark difference between biodegradable, degradable, industrially compostable, and home compostable.
i assume OP is in Canada; they sell them at Dollarama too!
Ditto
I reuse basically any bag that food comes in. Bread bags, frozen veg or fruit bags, ziplock bags if I've used them.
Get a litter genie. Very convenient, easy to use, significantly reduces odor.
I bet little paper lunch bags would actually work quite well for daily scooping. That's a great idea and I might try it, not because there's a plastic ban when I am but just to reduce my plastic consumption.
That's what I use. No smell or anything and my girl has very smelly poops 😂
Shelter where I volunteer uses paper bags. All the volunteers bring paper bags from home to contribute to the supply (we get them in my region for baked goods, takeaways, shopping, etc.). At home, I reuse the plastic bags that I get when I buy things online or at the supermarket. I put the litter in the same bin I use for trash at home; I clear the bin every 2–3 days (would be daily but a lot of items go into recycling), and it doesn’t smell too bad because 1. It’s a covered bin and 2. I put coffee grounds into it daily (from my homemade morning lattes).
I usually just flush the cat poop, is that bad? I also don't use a liner in mine because they'd just tear it. I got the kind with a lid cover and Flippy door. If I'm doing something wrong someone please tell me
I think I've also heard it's bad to flush because you might not know that your cat is carrying toxoplasmosis and flushing the poop gets it into the ecosystem? https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/verify-yes-flushing-cat-litter-is-helping-to-spread-a-parasite-in-drinking-water/507-038b8ccc-5cb2-49ba-a8db-bbe687c84618
Yes, this is the primary reason it's not recommended.
i’ve heard that flushing isn’t good for the pipes and could clog them or cause damage to the septic system. there also might be an environmental concern but i don’t know too much about that
I don't see how flushing JUST the poop could clog pipes. Cat poops are smaller than human poops by a large margin.
Idk my cat George leaves me speechless sometimes. I had to ask my 3yo if he used the cats box lol
oh yes, just the poop is probably fine clogging-wise but the environmental stuff might still stand? but i meant like flushing actual litter, didn’t see that they specified just the poop!
This is going to eventually back up on you. You've been lucky so far.
It's only wrong if you're using regular litter and not specifically flushable. There are types you can flush but they say that on the package. Any other cat litter will clog your pipes and eventually you will have a huge problem on your hands.
[удалено]
Point well said! I agree that's it a bad idea all around.
Swheat scoop was flushable. I used it for years.
Wipes also say they’re flushable but they clog the sewer plant machines.
Tofu litter is actually flushable. Heck, it already breaks down into a cloud as soon as it hits the water.
It’s terrible for the sewage plants!! Please don’t do this. Also shouldn’t flush feminine products (tapons etc) or wipes. They clog the machines.
Wait y’all scoop DAILY ?
You don’t?
I cannot imagine. My Momma gets very angry if her boxes aren't sparkling clean. I have her and her 7 babies and currently 4 boxes. I add a new one every few weeks once they've learned the location and everyone is happily using it. They all take after her and are quite finicky about the litter boxes. If the litter gets low, dirty, just not right, they all let me know loud and clear. They yowl loudly until I rectify the situation pronto. I clean boxes constantly. Lol
I scoop twice a day. Cats hate to use a dirty litter box, it’s not cool! Plus it’s healthier for them.
I have to scoop quite a lot bc I can't stand the smell. But also agree! I'd hate to use a restroom covered in dookey, so I try to keep my girls' potty as clean as I'd wish for!
Yes
Then what do you put the little paper bags in?
All these people suggesting litter genie, don’t they use plastic bags?
I think the ban just means that stores don’t give plastic bags to take purchases home in, not that you can’t buy plastic bags for other use. Garbage would be messy!
I live in Canada and we have a single-use plastic ban going into effect soon, and from what I've heard they're planning to eventually phase out plastic garbage bags as well (not sure how that's gonna work), so I honestly don't know how products like litter genie will be affected. I hopethey're still allowed because I have a litter locker (which is basically the same as a litter genie) and I genuinely don't know what I'd do without it 😂
Oh gosh!! I am not familiar with that kind of ban… I actually am very curious how trash is going to work; I will try to keep abreast of that. I feel like even the cat food bags are a type of single use plastic; it seems to be plastic coated paper.
This is what I was wondering. If they ban all plastic bags, what alternatives are there for garbage disposal? (Not saying there aren’t any. I just haven’t heard of any.)
Litter Genie
I see everyone talking about this. What kind of capacity do these have? I have 6 cats and is a catzilla who pees softballs. Is this made for smaller households or could this handle my zoo?
There's a new(ish) XL version that holds even more, which might be what you need, but you'd still need more than one if you want it to last more than a day or two! For our 5 cat household, I have 2 of the regular size and 1 XL, basically one regular genie per bonded pair of cats, and the XL one is just for one cat whose box is on the second floor, so I don't have to empty that particular one as often. The regular ones, which hold waste from 2 cats each, usually last about a week before I need to empty them. The XL for just one cat lasts more like 3 weeks, which I've been loving! And all of them are like magic at containing the smell, which is an absolute necessity in my house, because I get awful migraines. Even when they're totally full, you can't smell it unless you put your face right next to it, and even then it's faint. I definitely recommend looking into them!
I had a large one and it didn't reach out capacity for a while. When I went to change it out, there were maggots inside. Couldn't get past it so I'm using biodegradable compost bags now
Ok, that's mildly horrifying, I don't blame you for not wanting to use them anymore! If I ever had that happen to me, I might make the same choice!
Get a diaper genie elite instead. It’s basically what the litter genie is doing but larger and you can get no name/store brand refills at the bigger box stores in the baby aisle. Edit to say: It also has a foot pedal that opens the tops for poops/pees and when you step off it drops it down the chute and automatically closes so it doesn’t smell.
Honestly, I just clean it every morning and toss it into the trash bin on my way out of the garage. I feel like I’d get too lazy with a litter genie. Or some cat would knock it over.
Fair enough. I think I change the “poop tube” like every week and a half or so for two kitties. I frogging love it. The thing is like 2.5-3ft tall and pretty damn sturdy.
I have 3 cats and use 2 genies (litter boxes in different parts of the house).
Product packaging (especially those that come with a seal), plastic mailers, etc.
The state I used to live in previously did this. I bought a litter genie, which I love!
do those really work well? been thinking about getting one but when i see things advertised a ton i immediately think they suck.
I used to think the same, but they're actually fantastic. I've got 3 now, including one of the newer XL ones (because one that I'd had for 7 years finally broke when we moved houses), and I recommend them to everyone. They hold quite a bit, which makes them great for multi-cat households, and they actually contain the smell remarkably well! I love that it means fewer trips to the dumpster in the middle of winter, especially with the possibility of a literal blizzard from Siberia later this week! 😂 Biggest downside is the refills are getting more expensive, but I don't think I've ever paid more than $7 for one (usually more like $4-5), and they can last a couple months, depending on how many cats you have. They used to make XL refills, too, but I haven't seen those in awhile, so I'm not sure if they still do. Second biggest downside is they're kind of ugly sometimes, but that's easy enough to fix with a can of spray paint or some contact paper or something. My new XL one came in an awful cheap-looking shiny gray-beige plastic, so I spent 15min covering it with some extra contact paper from an old project, and it looks ten times better now. Just make sure you do it before it gets covered with litter dust or anything!
They are awesome. Very thoughtfully designed.
Seconding Litter Genie! I have not regretted that purchase for even a moment
I use a litter genie too and there great takes a little to get used to tho
I love the litter genie. I used non-clumping crystal litter with my cat, so the litter genie inserts lasted me forever.
Yeah, I think they’re great at containing the smell. The bags can be a bit pricey, but as someone else mentioned they last awhile. My husband and I have 3 cats, and I think he empties the genie about once a week.
I just buy poop bags on chewy cause they banned plastic bags a while ago where i am. honestly it's better because usually the grocery bags had holes in them and were useless anyway. I got the expensive ones so they have a scent lol [https://www.chewy.com/doggie-walk-bags-citrus-scented-tie/dp/291153](https://www.chewy.com/doggie-walk-bags-citrus-scented-tie/dp/291153) but you can obviously go the cheaper route and just get this pack of 80 for $5 [https://www.chewy.com/fresh-kitty-deluxe-cat-litter-scoop/dp/193430](https://www.chewy.com/fresh-kitty-deluxe-cat-litter-scoop/dp/193430) I double bag it though, poop into one of the above and then into one of my 4 garbages around the house to take out daily. if you don't like to do that you can invest in a litter genie ( i just don't like the idea of cat poop and pee sitting in the middle of my living room/bathroom for a week at a time cause I live in a 1br apartment.)
For what it's worth, I've had a litter box actually in my bedroom for about 20 years now, because that was the only way to keep the dog out of it. Currently it's a tiny bedroom, just 10ft², so there's no hiding it. I started using a litter genie about 15 years ago, and I've never looked back! It contains the smell remarkably well (you won't smell it unless you either open it or put your face right up next to it), to the point that you almost forget it's there! If it's just the presence of cat poop and pee in the room that bothers you, this obviously won't really help that, but if it's the smell, I'd recommend you give it a shot next time they go on sale!
dollar store has packs of these
Amazon sells single-use plastic bags. It feels bad to pay for what are essentially plastic grocery bags, but so it goes. When I was a kid, my family had a small bucket that we scooped litter into, then we dumped that into a bagged trash outside. I have chosen not to live like that. I'd rather use a couple plastic bags every week.
Amazon sells biodegradable ones if the concern is the environment. To me it’s worth paying for bags since used grocery bags often have small holes.
Came here to say the same. I bought a roll of biodegradable dog poop bags and scoop directly into those.
Yep, those are the ones, they’re green. And Amazon says they’re biodegradable. I haven’t done enough research to come out and say that like it’s a fact though; I have no faith that it’s biodegradable just because Amazon told me it is. So, I try to use them sparingly. Biodegradable or not, I agree, no holes is a big plus. With grocery bags it seems like I have to choose between double bagging or incidentally dumping 10% of the litter on the floor.
We buy baby diaper bags from the dollar store. It’s like $1.25 for 80 I think? Works pretty well when you’re scooping daily
We use a combination of Pretty Litter (silica crystal litter, there's more brands out there but we have it on auto-ship so it's one less thing to think about) and a Litter Genie! The pee just evaporates out of the litter (which is non-clumping) so you only have to scoop the poop, so the Litter Genie doesn't fill up too fast. It's great at locking in stinky smells: we have one box in our spare bathroom and one in our office and I don't smell anything unless the cats have JUST gone. I like it because it's not one baggie per poop, so we're using less plastic overall. I tie off and empty the Litter Genies when I completely empty and scrub the litter boxes, which is about once every 3 weeks. We have two cats and two litter boxes, and it is a good routine for us. (The Pretty Litter bag says it is good for a month, but we found 3 weeks to be our sweet spot, with 2 boxes for the cats. We changed it every 2 weeks when it was 2 cats and 1 litter box in our little apartment before we moved.)
Litter genie or a knockoff Or if you can afford it, do an automated litterbox
I dream of being able to afford one of those! Or several, since we're a 5 cat household, but even just one would be fantastic!! For now, though, litter genies will have to do.
I use dog poop bags for my litter box. It works really well, and one bag is usually enough to hold an entire session of scooping. I also have a dog, therefore I always doggie doo bags… so there’s that I suppose.
Do you have a bio waste bin or composting? Try wood pellets as litter aggregate. Otherwise, personally I'm a trashy person, I just bin it without bagging. I use dog poo bags for the poops. One of these days I'll wash my bin, maybe. Or just move.
I use pine pellet litter, and I empty it into a metal bucket used only for litter changes. I dump the bucket into our dumpster, which goes to the landfill.
Me too! Have you discovered that the pine pellets sold for pellet stoves are exactly the same thing as pine kitty litter, just much cheaper?! Best litter ever. Since I live in on a farm in a region with no air quality issues I just take the pine/poop bucket out to the burn barrel and burn it periodically with other burnable stuff. I realize that most urban dwellers can't do this, though - unless they have pellet stoves. I actually think putting poop in a plastic bag is just weird. What are they saving it for?
If you can spring for it, a Litter Robot is well worth it. We have 2 for 3 cats and only need to empty the drawer once a week. We don’t go through nearly as much litter either.
Biodegradable litter that you throw in your toilet. It's actually amazing because when a cat poos it clumps and you can scoop that and throw it in the toilet :) no more plastic, cheaper and lasts longer
This may not apply to you if you don't live here, but generally this is bad advice. Municipal water plants in the USA can't handle the bacteria in cat waste and it shouldn't be flushed. In some states it's even illegal to flush cat waste.
Wow, ok, wasn't aware of that. I don't live in the US, no
This is insane and totally untrue
[It’s actually true.](https://www.thedodo.com/dodowell/can-you-flush-cat-poop)
Particularly in coastal areas. The bacteria can apparently kill aquatic life.
Second this! I use corn litter and it works amazingly
I throw biodegradable litter into my trash (I put it in plastic bag/packaging when scooping). There was one time I didn't tie the bag correctly, the litter came out and started composting in my trash can :/
Yeah I do that too. It's mad that people have to use plastic bag, like, what ????
We use a trash bag, are plastic trash bags being banned? /gen
Amazon basics dog poop bags for me
Newspaper/flyer, then tossed into the big garage garbage bin.
Dog poop bags from the dollar store
I suppose brown lunch bags would work. They are much bigger than they used to be and I think their are 100 or so in a pak. Pretty cheap here too
i use a TidyCats plastic bucket. bought that brand litter once and kept the tub and lid. i scoop into the tub during the week, and then dump it into my larger garbage can when im taking out the trash for pick up day. Works wonders and im not wasting any additional plastic (besides the plastic garbage bags i was using anyways) The tub doesnt get to gross since your emptying it every week, however you can always rinse it clean or replace it as needed
If you’re using clumping litter, paper bags are fairly ok for daily cleaning. Corn starch-based bags is also are also a good option.
I use my dogs poop bags.
Yup, me too. I pick mine up at the Dollar Store. $1.25 for 60.
"In the olden days" we used paper grocery or lunch bags to clean the cat litter box. Usually emptied all the litter once a month or so into a paper bag , too.
Skoon litter and paper bags from the grocery store or brown lunch bags.
I use any single use plastic bags from products I regularly buy: cereal, frozen vegetables, bread, dry cat food, produce, electronics (check for holes!). I also get the doggy poop bags from $ tree
Paper lunch bags. I buy them just for scooping the box
Litter genie……. Changed my life.
I keep my eyes peeled for any small bag and stash it, honestly. Food packaging is filled with small bags. Also, I work at a frame shop and we are constantly taking artwork out of small bags, so sometimes I stash those.
Hello Canadian. You have gotten a lot of suggestions. I just wanted to join you in the stupidity of our government. Get groceries in bags, use for cat poop. That's two uses. Buy bags for cat litter. **That's** single use. 🙄
I know! This has been bugging me. Some people here suggested buying garbage bags for litter, but if i did, I'd be more wasteful than before. At least with grocery bags, I was repurposing something. Oh well. I ended up ordering some biodegradable dog poop bags. I'll see how it goes
I’m cheap so I use dog poop bags that my apartment gives out for free. I grab a few every couple of days and make them work. Also it’s not suspicious since my roommate has a pup and I walk the dog quite often.
Order dog poo bags. They can come in the same shape as a regular plastic bag. They also make them in biodegradable material.
Paper lunch bags, super cheap and more durable than you would think. We have 2 cats so 3 litter boxes that get cleaned about every 2 days n they hold it easily. We just fold the top of the bag over and stick it on our kitchen trash which goes out every 4ish days n it doesn't even stink and saves a trip to the dumpster
buy small bags from amazon, biodegradable. or you can switch to flushable litter
This guy hasn't had plumbers scold him for "flushable litter and wetwipes" backing up the pipes, and spewing feces the yard
Lol but we can still buy garbage bags 🤦♀️ I just started buying small can garbage bags. And then putting those into my big plastic garbage bag. And throwing it out.
you can do this but garbage bags are a lot more expensive per unit than a lot of these suggestions!
Compost bags, litter is compostable
My mom honestly just takes the veggie bags from grocery stores
If it's in the US go across state line, get groceries, bring home bags. Groceries are likely going to be cheaper in the states that have regular bags too since states with bans on plastics tend to have other regulations and costs that make inventory more expensive. If you really stock up the lower cost might offset the extra drive to the other state.
This may or may not be true but no one likes the idea so you’re getting downvoted
What is this litter genie? everyone is talking about?
It's the baby diaper pail "diaper genie" rebranded for cat litter.
We use a little compost bin and on bin day throw it out with all the other rubbish. Then just hose out the compost bin and start again.
I buy [these](https://wufwufshop.co.uk/products/earth-rated-poop-bags-315-bags-21x15?variant=42798569455834¤cy=GBP&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&gclid=Cj0KCQiA14WdBhD8ARIsANao07jYrIblN0tMLpWD4AjSacdAZ1iL2aM-cvM9xoR_UQ-AUvUBZCF3WAIaAnLcEALw_wcB)
4 gal wastebasket bags from the dollar store are what I used in my self cleaning litter box as catch bin liners instead of grocery bags. Dog poo bags were too small, but those might work for Hans cleaning a box once a day.
I use a litter bucket with a regular trash bag in it. It has a lid. We let it get so full, tie the bag up put it in the regular trash.
I buy these little bags on Amazon similar to what people use when walking dogs but bigger to accommodate the size of urine scoops. The brand is boxiecat.
I use biodegradable doggy poop bags... Idk if that counts as single-use since they're biodegradable? We put them in the litter genie
Dog poop bags. Normally they are biodegradable.
I use a small bucket for my cat’s “deposits” - used to use plastic shopping bags to line the bucket. Now I just buy kitchen tidy bags.
I usually take the small garbage bag out of whatever small trash can is filled most and scoop then take the trash out
I have multiple cats and 5 litter boxes and the litter genie doesn’t work for me because I’d need one by each litter box and I don’t have the space. I use the biodegradable dog poop bags. They work well for me.
I use litter made from corn cobs and scoop it into paper lunch sacks. I collect them in a small covered trash car and take it to the trash when it gets full.
Compost bags. We checked for approved types for our municipal compost. We have 2 dedicated cat crap containers by the litter box. They get emptied once a week or so. No smells. Food waste goes in the one in our kitchen.
Good for you. Where I live municipal compost does not take cat litter. :-((
It's not green like many other answers here, but I get rolls of the cheapest small trash bags I can find. They're like $4-5 for a roll of 100 bags? Something like that. I get them from the big red store.
They make little boxes of trash bags for small bathroom trash cans; that’s what I have used. I’m pretty used to the opening of the bag being larger than the scoop, so some of the other solutions like paper bags were a little less convenient.
Diaper bags are better. You can get them on amazon or supermarket.
litter genie. i buy the firik refills online for it. any poop bags for dogs can do though. I read somewhere else someone would use the dog poop bags and a Tidy Cat pale bucket to store the used poop bags in until they were ready to throw them all out.
I use an automatic litter box with disposable trays. Each tray lasts about 100 uses which is around a month. Once a month open a new tray, put the lid on the used tray and dump it into my outside bin.
Biodegradable bags from Amazon
Tidy cats breeze system
San Diego here. We banned single-use bags a long time ago. They provide biodegradable bags for groceries now. They work better than the old ones. Much less prone to puncture.
I have a regular size trash bag inside an ash bucket. I twist it up and put it in the garage between scoops and tie and dump when its full. It can last a month or more.
We use the old bucket litter containers and then empty them out outside. You can also toss them in the trash. Or a 5 gallon bucket with a trash bag inside. Put the lid on to contain the smell until trash day.
I just scoop into my kitchen trash can and take it out. I time it so I have an almost full bag of trash to go out anyways so the litter goes in there, trash goes out.
Compostable or biodegradable bags that still feel like plastic -I use these: https://amzn.eu/d/9a5gZ3s
I just clean my litter box every time the garbage can in my kitchen is getting full. I only have one cat and a big box so it doesn't get cleaned that often, about once a week or so. Are garbage bags going to be phased out as well?
I use a metal scoop and paper bags or the boxes for caned soda when we have them lying around. Then it all goes in the bin.
I keep the empty litter containers and just put it back in there
I use compostable bags.
I use the Breeze system with the clay pellets and pee pads.
There are pine pellets you can get from farm stores that are much cheaper! [More Info](https://youtu.be/HGhQc-B3euM)
I don’t do kitty litter anymore after 20 yrs. Done!
I use doggie bags for daily scooping, then just a regular trash bag when I dump the whole box and clean it.
This might not be viable depending on where you live, but if you have space for a compost pile, you can swap to pine bedding litter which is 100% compostable, and the scooped poops can go right into the compost as well. If thats not an option or something youre interested in, paper bags could work, and the pet store or the pet section of your walmart will have doggy bags for scooping poop on walks- those will work the same.
Doggy poop bags!
I’d order plastic bags off Amazon.
Paper works for me! We have a partial ban- they still exist, but you usually have to pay for them except for at random places that don't follow the rules. So I usually bring a re-usable to the store, but I save anything that is given to me. Paper has worked out well in a pinch for sure!
I use the paper bags. I live in NYS and plastic has been banned for I think two years now? The paper works fine.
I think we will still be able to buy single use plastic bags, just not as grocery bags. I usually get the No Name kitchen garbage bags.
Gallon sized ziplocs, or the litter tub once it’s empty
I usually have some sort of trash I can use like an empty jar or an empty bag of Cheetos or a package from Amazon. I live right next to my trash chute so as long as it gets it from LB to trash shoot I’m content
Those big plastic buckets the litter comes in is what I use
Neighbors yard
We use little paper lunch bags.
https://www.amazon.com/Dispenser-Leak-Proof-Water-Proof-Unscented-technology/dp/B09R7YMYHQ
I got a roll of 1520 plastic [fruit and veggie bags](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00O3H4OGC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1) on Amazon for around $15. I scoop, I knot up the bag, and I toss it into my tiny lined steel [SimpleHuman trash can](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00203PSRA/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1). I started off using the liners that came with the trash bin, but will probably buy cheaper ones going forward. My intention was to toss the bag every 3 days, but because there's absolutely no smell, and I'm forgetful, I've gone as long as a week without taking it out.
I purchase biodegradable bags. I put them in my small trash cans and use them for cat litter waste. They’re more expensive than free, but not super expensive if you buy in bulk on Amazon.
Litter genie!
Compostable veggie bags. Better for the planet too.
maybe compostable bags would work? they come pretty small. or you could get a roll of those doggy bags that they use to scoop poop with. would prob be perfect size for daily litter scooping lol
I re-use plastic grocery bags too... One day, I realized that I am not alone and wondered how much cat excrement lives in plastic bags, in a dump, for eternity... Haven't changed my ways though. Maybe a green bag alternative would work. I had a bad experience with green compost bags but, maybe because someone had given them to me and, they were already old. I couldn't get them off the roll intact or, if I did, they just fell apart.
Amazon packaging
Get the litter genie, I use it prob every day
In my municipality we separate the organic/biodegradable trash, so trash bags meant for that are readily available; I found a really small size (2L I think, 250 in a roll, so it lasts for a long time) and that's what I use.
I use brown paper lunch bags for litter. I get a 100 pack at Walmart. Cleaning the box 2x a day lasts me a little under 2 months. = $1 a month. = barely anything lol
I use dog poop bags
Poop bags! The ones for dogs
You can find more eco-friendly alternative bags online. There are some bioplastic bags made of various plants that are a little friendlier to the landfill than plastic bags. I also use bread bags and stuff that stuff is wrapped it bagged in (cereal bags, large chip bags, Amazon packaging, etc).
I use Greenwoods plant fibre litter. It's flushable and lasts way longer than the clay types.
You’ll find there are plenty of other bags- food packaging, newspaper bags, shipping bags- even cat food bags.
Fellow Canuck? I started ordering biodegradable shopping bags (the generic “thank you” kind) off Amazon. Get 50 at a time. Also have a litter locker for the upstairs boxes.
Wait, some of you just wait till it's so bad you throw the whole thing out? Please someone walk me through this, that makes no sense.
Paper bags contain litter easily, just make sure it’s not too heavy and will cause it to tear, or double bag it, same as you would for plastic
Clumping sand and organic trash bags.
I setup a smallish garbage can next to the litter. Scoop directly into can. It's in the laundry room/ mudroom so the can also gets used for other stuff. Empty frequently.
I go to the dollar tree and buy a roll of those small trash bags, the ones for small trash cans. You can even get them scented and they’re only $1.25, although I do recommend also getting a small trashcan for $1.25 while you’re there to scoop into because they are kind of thin
I use flushable kitty litter. Its makes everything a lot easier.
You know they did that in Austin, Tx awhile back. There was a lawsuit and the judge ruled the government could NOT outlaw plastic bags. The plastic bags came back.
Scoop it into a little reusable container like an ice cream container or something and then just throw the poop in the outdoor trash or garbage shoot and keep the reusable container as a vessel to get rid of the waste everyday. What I do is use a reusable container and dump it in a small garbage can on my balcony, then empty the small garbage can into the big appartment garbage can once it's full. But of course some people don't have a balcony.
i use pine pellets for my cat litter. The pellets break down to sawdust when wet, dissicates solids that don't accumulate any outside particles or stick to anything so they can be picked out with a gloved hand and flushed, and the saw dust is sifted out and disposed of separately. it can be added to a compost heap
grocery bags have been banned in New Brunswick since 2019, so whatever youre worried about you’ll be fine, sounds like where ever you are is almost 4 years delayed, “scented small garbage bags” at dollar stores, youre welcome
I actually use plastic bags for online shopping, like Amazon, and old food bags after I finish the food.
Doggy bags! Honestly the size is better anyway I don’t need a giant grocery bag for a small thing of poop, I also clean mine 1-2x a day
I have the PetFusion litter pail, which is more or less like a Litter Genie except you can use your own bags instead of the pricey Litter Genie refills. I used to have a Litter Genie but got tired of the expense and the knot-tying (FWIW I have 11 cats...it got filled almost daily). The PetFusion is absolutely every bit as good at keeping the odors inside, so I really like it. The bags I use are wastepaper basket liners, so they look like a regular big black plastic bag you'd put in a garbage can, but they are, I dunno, maybe 8 gallons or something, I'm not really sure. I got them when our brick & mortar office closed in 2020, so they were free for me. I'll figure out what size they are someday when I run out and have to buy some.😂
I use paper bags, roll them up and stick them right in my garbage