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04/20/07, 11:27 AM
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Join Date: May 2002
Location: Kitsap Co, WA
Posts: 3,025
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Which is the better choice environmentally?
I've got an old all-cotton futon that I need to get rid of, thanks to cat pee  . Is it better to take it to the dump, where it will probably never rot in a landfill, or is it better to burn it?
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04/20/07, 11:33 AM
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Join Date: May 2004
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 17,225
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Prolly illegal to burn. Better off in the landfill. Might I suggest cutting a hole in it, inserting the cat and sewing the ho.............. oh, nevermind.......
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Flaming Xtian
I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.
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Libertarindependent
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04/20/07, 11:33 AM
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Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: NY - Finger Lakes Region
Posts: 1,047
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Compost it.
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04/20/07, 11:43 AM
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Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: NE Indiana
Posts: 73
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Familiar story to me. When I first moved into my house a few years ago I was storing a couch out in the garage. Somehow one of the neighbor's cats got into the garage and sprayed/urinated all over it. It was a nice Lay Z Boy couch with recliners that I'd picked up at a local Good Will. Really peed me off, but what are you going to do? I ended up taking mine to the dump with a load of other trash b/c it had plastics in it. If you're concerned about burning, make sure it's not a cotton/poly blend in the filler material. I don't know if the dyes are toxic when burned either. I usually don't burn stuff that I'm not 100% sure of. Unless you're taking more trash with it, landfill=$. I've chopped up many an item and thrown it out with the regular trash as I have the large 90 gallon bins (und yah, all legal-like).
"The Bluebird of Happiness visited me the other day. It really ruined a nice carwash."
-redgreenbluegill
"I tried Singing in the Rain once. All I got out of it was a lung full of water."
-redgreenbluegil
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"It's not like money grows on trees, and besides even if it did with my luck I would have clear cut them a long time ago for the firewood." -redgreenbluegil
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04/20/07, 12:24 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 19,807
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If it's all cotton, I'm with Steve L. Compost it!
(Of course, I've been known to try to compost anything that isn't nailed down... LOL!)
Pony!
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04/20/07, 01:28 PM
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Banned
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Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Texas
Posts: 2,370
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It will also compost in a landfill, eventually, won't it?
I've become a bit of a compost nut, too- dryer lint, hubby's recently cut hair, you name it.
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04/20/07, 01:40 PM
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Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Southern Maryland
Posts: 4,275
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I would compost it too - the cat pee being a plus in this case - you already have a mix of greens and browns! lol
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04/20/07, 01:46 PM
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Join Date: May 2002
Location: Kitsap Co, WA
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This is a full size futon, folks -- it'll take a long, skanky time to compost. And they (the all-knowing "They") have coredrilled landfills and found that perfectly biodegradable stuff has not biodegraded in 50 years! Think about that next time you throw something away... 
On the other hand, smoke, even from non-synthetic fibers, is not a nice thing to do to the atmosphere. What to do, what to do?...
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04/20/07, 02:02 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 19,807
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Well...
How 'bout chop (cut, hack, chainsaw, leaf shredder) the futon so it has smaller, more numerous exposed edges, and it will compost a lot faster. Especially if you're running a fairly hot pile...
I wouldn't go the landfill route for the reason Snoozy posted: things don't really break down in landfills.
Pony!
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04/20/07, 02:09 PM
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Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Southern Maryland
Posts: 4,275
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Composting really is your only envronmentally friendly choice and like Pony says in small pieces it won't take nearly as long as you think. If it starts to smell (ok, if it starts to smell more) just cover it over with shredded paper, sawdust or leaves.
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04/20/07, 02:11 PM
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Join Date: May 2004
Location: Minnesota
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Well, speaking theoretically, most of the landfills around here are running pipe through the fill now. They harvest the methane from the decomposing matter and generate electricity with it. So in a way (if this is the case in your area), putting it in the landfill could recyle it in some small way.
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Flaming Xtian
I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.
Mahatma Gandhi
Libertarindependent
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04/20/07, 03:06 PM
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Just howling at the moon
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Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Wyoming
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I wonder what kind of flame retardent is on it. Required on all furniture. So composting may put in some chemical you don't want. I would only use that compost on non-food areas.
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04/20/07, 03:12 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: MS
Posts: 24,572
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Recycle it! Use it for a dog bed, or as "mulch" to create new garden spaces, or just bury it so it can compost out of sight.
Or you can always remove the cover, wash it and replace any peed on stuffing. Wash with vinegar to remove the odor.
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04/20/07, 03:33 PM
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Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Australia
Posts: 3,187
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Don't forget to compost the cat, too! They are one of our greatest environmental disasters, and not good for our personal economy, as you've discovered the hard way!
If it's all cotton, the futon will compost down fairly quickly, especially if it's cut into small pieces. Don't burn it, that's very environmentally-unfriendly.
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04/20/07, 03:50 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Coastal NC
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List it for free on CraigsList. I'm sure there are some long-time single people out there that could use it and wouldn't notice the smell of cat pee. 
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04/20/07, 08:37 PM
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More dharma, less drama.
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Join Date: May 2002
Location: Texas Coastal Bend/S. Missouri
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What about using it as the bottom layer in a new 'lasagne garden'?
Put it where you want a new planting area, top with a layer of compost, then leaves, composted cow manure, leaves, grass clippings, compost, etc etc. You wouldn't have to worry about weeds breaking through from below! 
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04/20/07, 09:17 PM
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Nohoa Homestead
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Location: SW Missouri near Branson (Cape Fair)
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by snoozy
I've got an old all-cotton futon that I need to get rid of, thanks to cat pee . Is it better to take it to the dump, where it will probably never rot in a landfill, or is it better to burn it? |
check out www.planeturine.com (no kidding). They have a system that WORKS MIRACLES and might be just the answer to your prayers.
Donsgal
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Life is what happens while you are making other plans. (John Lennon)
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04/21/07, 09:36 AM
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Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Carthage, Texas
Posts: 12,261
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The "BEST" choice environmentally, is to simply live with the mistake of letting a cat pee on it. Not a good choice imho, but it is the best choice environmentally....
...sure there are lots of folks in the world without a futon, that would love to have one, pee or not!
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Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival. W. Edwards Deming
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04/21/07, 09:54 AM
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Failure is not an option.
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Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Wisconsin
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Hey.
I'd recycle it into a cat coffin for cats that don't use a litterbox.
RF
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04/21/07, 10:04 AM
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Join Date: May 2002
Location: Kitsap Co, WA
Posts: 3,025
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A dog bed stinking of cat pee?! That's punishing a dog for a cat's bladder problem. (Kind of like invading Iraq for the actions of non-Iraqi terrorists but I digress...) Moreover, you all know how once a cat anoints someplace, it is a toilet forever. It is an old futon (read hard as a rock now) so I have no intention of spending any money on resuscitating it. It has been my couch for some years now and I have been meaning to replace it with regular sofa cushions one of these days.
I hadn't thought seriously of composting it. I suppose I could drag it to the currently unused pigpen and bury it there. What a lot of work!
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