So, I wrote this almost four years ago and never got around to publishing it. Whoops! In the past four years, Austin passed a plastic bag ban, which reduced the feasibility of this idea, and we bought a Litter-Robot automated self-cleaning litter box, which we love. Without further ado, here’s my four-year-old idea for improving the Littermad Plus…

If you’re using the Littermaid Plus litter box, wrap your receptacle in plastic bags. Whenever the receptacle is full, simply take the plastic bag off, tie it up, and walk it to the trash. You save time, money, and the planet :)

We have a Littermaid Plus Automatic Self-Cleaning Litter Box and it’s awesome! It has run like a champ for almost three years now.

The machine periodically rakes the waste into a replaceable plastic container at the end by the ramp to the floor.

Recently, I got frustrated with the weekly dumping of the waste receptacle. The replacements are fairly inexpensive (~$0.50 each), but they’re yet another cost. Beyond that, the replacements create demand for more plastics–plastics that will never degrade after being thrown away.

So I took a standard plastic grocery bag (which we already use to transport the used receptacle and lid) and placed it into the plastic bin. I folded the handles out and pressed the bag smoothly against the receptacle. The lid closed normally and a trail run went well. Now, after several weeks of use I will say this method works. I have not had to replace the receptacle and I’ve used a couple plastic bags instead of throwing them away.