Kitty Litter Containers

[Marianne]

I'm not really afraid of them now, but I do have a healthy respect for them. It's been a long time since we had one in the shop, but they're only black and bull snakes so they aren't waiting to get me.
DH is the polar opposite. His feeling is that a good snake is a dead snake. But if he brought one in the house, in a bucket or not, I'd have to thump him on the head.

 

[Toulle]

I'm not really afraid of them now, but I do have a healthy respect for them. It's been a long time since we had one in the shop, but they're only black and bull snakes so they aren't waiting to get me.
DH is the polar opposite. His feeling is that a good snake is a dead snake. But if he brought one in the house, in a bucket or not, I'd have to thump him on the head.

Seriously, I understand most people just don't care much for them. I do very much appreciate people having a "healthy respect for them" like you. I have no patience, however, for those few out there with an unreasonable primal fear/hatred for them or any other small animal.
I don't keep 'em as pets anyway, and don't understand how anybody can consider a snake a pet. They aren't exactly warm, cuddly or affectionate, are they? I just need to keep one or two now and then for a day or two before I can take it somewhere safe to release it.
A few years back I was working and taking classes at the local small college. I was known for walking around the halls carrying one of the buckets in question. The zoology prof always wanted me to drop by when he was doing a lab class for show and tell.
I can tell you, though, when I had a tag on one that read "venomous reptile - WILL bite" people just left it alone.

 

[Marianne]

Ya, really. We know a guy that built a really nice snake house - perfectly clean, nicely painted, heated/air conditioned..has scrapbooks of all his 'babies'. He treats them well, but it's not their natural environment...no matter what he does. On the other hand, I never would have seen half those snakes if it wasn't for him.

Sorry for the thread hijack, back to buckets and jugs.

 

[myzanya]

I use them to store in the deep freeze...as a compact use of space..one on top of anouther

 

[Marianne]

I use them to store in the deep freeze...as a compact use of space..one on top of anouther

Take a moment and introduce yourself over at the 'where am I' part of the forum index, k? Glad to have another new member!

 

[pinkfox]

im planning on using at least one to store home made laundry soap

 

[Oberhaslikid]

I have to carry water to my animals in the cold season. I use my litter jugs to store water in at the barn and coop.
I fill with hot water carry to barn and store in coolers overnight. Then I have water for the next feeding.The coolers help keep it from freezing till use.
I also use the to store wheat in that I buy to sprout for the chickens over winter.4 jugs will hold 50# of wheat.
I use them in the house to hold water for outages or water leaks.
I use them for feed pans for sick animals by cutting off the bottoms.waterers by cutting a hole in the top the chickens can stick their heads in.
You want to share plants use them as pots no need to return.

 

[Marianne]

I have to carry water to my animals in the cold season. I use my litter jugs to store water in at the barn and coop.
I fill with hot water carry to barn and store in coolers overnight. Then I have water for the next feeding.The coolers help keep it from freezing till use.
I also use the to store wheat in that I buy to sprout for the chickens over winter.4 jugs will hold 50# of wheat.
I use them in the house to hold water for outages or water leaks.
I use them for feed pans for sick animals by cutting off the bottoms.waterers by cutting a hole in the top the chickens can stick their heads in.
You want to share plants use them as pots no need to return.

Those are some pretty slick ideas, too.

 

[nmred]

I have one for the buckets that I bet most of you never thought of When our children were small we used a bucket with a couple of inches of litter in the bottom for a potty chair for our van! Our little toilet potty seat fit perfectly on top. The parent/older child who was in the back with the toddler would take the lid off the bucket, put the seat on top, help the baby do his or her "job," then put the lid back on. The litter in the bottom works just as well for human pee as it does cat pee. It worked great and no need to stop when the little one yelled "I have to go potty!" You know that when they say that you have about 30 seconds before an "accident" happens. BTW we live about 25 minutes from town, and could never seem to get all the way in without one of them having to GO!

 

[Calista]

I'm updating this thread because my neighbor offered me the empty Cat's Pride Natural Unscented Scoop Litter containers she buys for her kitties. They're the 20-pound containers with nice screw-top lids and absolutely could be recycled using all the wonderful ideas presented here. I plan to store tap water in each one after a thorough cleaning and bleaching -- and will regard the stockpiled water as potable in emergency situations.

The reason I'm comfortable with this usage is the triangle grade on the bottom of the container, a number 2 HDPE. Here's the information about that plastic grade:

High density polyethylene (HDPE)
Description: Polyethylenes are the most widely used family of plastics in the world. The versatile polyethylene polymer has the simplest basic chemical structure of any plastic polymer (repeating units of CH2: one carbon and two hydrogen molecules) making it very easy to process and thus extremely popular for numerous low value applications - especially packaging. HDPE has long virtually unbranched polymer chains which align and pack easily making it dense and very crystalline (structurally ordered) and thus a stronger, thicker form of of polyethylene. Properties: stiffness, strength, toughness, resistance to moisture, permeability to gas, ease of processing.

Typical Use: Plastic bags (grocery), opaque milk, water, and juice containers, bleach, detergent and shampoo bottles, garbage bags, dishes, yogurt and margarine tubs, cereal box liners, some medecine bottles. Also used in Tyvek insulation, PEX piping, plastic/wood composites.

Toxicity: Being relatively stable, it is generally considered a safer plastic for food and drink use, although some studies have shown that it can leach the endocrine disruptor nonylphenol (added to HDPE as a stabilizer), especially when exposed to ultraviolet light - i.e., sunlight - and possibly other additive chemicals with estrogen-mimicking activity (HDPE1, HDPE2, HDPE3).

Recycling: About 29% (HDPE4). Recycled material made into bottles for non-food items like shampoo, laundry detergent, motor oil; plastic lumber and furniture, piping, recycling bins, fencing, floor tiles, buckets, crates, flower pots, garden edging, film and sheeting.

Alternatives: Use glass or stainless steel reusable bottles and food storage containers. Buy in glass and reuse those bottles/jars - mason jars are incredibly versatile. Use reusable bags made of natural fibres (cotton, hemp).

Our Suggestion: RELATIVELY SAFE. But has been shown to release endocrine disrupting chemicals.

https://www.lifewithoutplastic.com/store/common_plastics_no_1_to_no_7

Notice under "Toxicity" it does mention food and drink use and, and the endocrine disruptor leaching can be mostly avoided with storage in a cool, dark place.

Again, I just like the idea of recycling these sturdy containers for an EMERGENCY water supply that costs me nothing and keeps them out of the dump. YMMV but I thought this information would be pertinent for those interested.