Taipei, March 16 (CNA) A research institute under the Council of Agriculture unveiled on Tuesday a new cat litter product developed from substrate used to grow enoki mushrooms.
The technology was developed as part of an effort to recycle about 30,000-50,000 metric tons of substrate -- mainly sawdust mixed with some bean-based protein powder and rice bran -- used to grow enoki mushrooms every year, said Lee Yueh-yee, an associate research fellow at the Taiwan Agricultural Chemicals and Toxic Substances Research Institute.
Unlike cultivating other mushrooms, enoki mushrooms do not require constant watering and as a result used enoki mushroom substrate is more absorbent and suitable for use as cat litter, Lee said during a press conference in Taipei on the research and development project that took five years.
It is also less costly, because recycling substrate used to grow other kinds of mushrooms requires additional steps to dehydrate the used materials, she added.
To cater to cat owners' preferences, the institute has developed both crumble and clumping cat litter, the cost of which is half and one third to one fifth of the price of similar products currently on the market, respectively.
Lee further pointed out that the institute's products create less dust than those available on the market, 74 percent of which are mineral-based.
While used clumping litter can be disposed of like garbage, crumble litter can be reused to grow plants, according to Lee.
During the next phase of the program the institute will look for companies interested in developing the product commercially. With such assistance, Lee said she expects to see the more environmentally products reach the market within six months.
