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Waste Bedding Disposal

We bring ours to the tip. Our council doesn't allow animal waste to compost. They said because of poo and pee. So off it goes to the tip. It won't fit in our wheelie bin because our rubbish collection is every 3 weeks (next year it'll be every 4 weeks). We also resulted to buying clear bags for the animal wastes because every time we go to the tip, they ask us what's in the black bags. We usually have around 6 to 8 bags whenever we go to the tip. That is usually every 2 weeks. So if we go to the tip after 3 weeks, there will be more!
 
I have two large garden wheelie bins, they get emptied once a fortnight. My local council lets me put my waste in the garden bin. At first they weren't going to, until I explained the bedding contained hay and wood chippings. I also explained that the animals weren't meat eaters only herbivores, they changed their minds and let me put it in the garden bin.
 
I used to put all of it in the green bin until the council told me they can't accept any pet bedding or waste. (We use Megazorb, newspaper and hay). I sent them links to reputable sources saying they are herbivores and that all the bedding and waste composts down - still no.
So I bought a compost bin and compost it myself, interspersed with lawn clippings and kitchen compost. I now have a ready supply of beautiful garden compost and my veg patch has never looked better!
 
RescuedGuineas said:
I used to put all of it in the green bin until the council told me they can't accept any pet bedding or waste. (We use Megazorb, newspaper and hay). I sent them links to reputable sources saying they are herbivores and that all the bedding and waste composts down - still no.
So I bought a compost bin and compost it myself, interspersed with lawn clippings and kitchen compost. I now have a ready supply of beautiful garden compost and my veg patch has never looked better!
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What do you put in the compost bin? How long does it take to break down and how many guinea pigs do you have?!

I have 6 rabbits and 6 guinea pigs and they get through about five bags of waste a week, mainly hay and hemp bedding with some newspaper.
 
Hi flowerfairy, I have 2 guinea pigs - but looking at the amount of poop, you'd think there were at least a dozen!

In their cage I use a single layer of newspaper (just to make it easier to remove the Megazorb in the weekly deep clean), then a layer of Megazorb, then another layer of newspaper (to make it easier to refresh the hay daily) with hay on top. Every day I remove the top layer of newspaper/hay/poop and replace, putting the used stuff in the compost bin. Once a week I empty the lot - and it all goes in the compost bin as it's all plant-based (Megazorb and newspaper are wood pulp). I add lawn clippings, other garden waste and plant-based kitchen waste.

I'm not actually sure how long it takes to compost down... I have two bins, so I fill one, and then start filling the other. By the time I'm nearly ready to start a new bin again, the first bin has composted down so I riddle it with a garden sieve, adding any larger / non-composted bits to the current compost bin, and then start again. I'd guess at about 6-9 months, but I know you can encourage it to break down more quickly if you're prepared to turn the compost to aerate it. (You can get "compost tumblers" which claim to make compost in 6 weeks, but I've not tried them).

I would imagine with your 6 rabbits and 6 guineas, you'd soon have a fantastic supply of compost! If your bedding is all plant-based (hay, hemp, newspaper) you'd be fine to compost the lot.

I will try to take some photos... bear with me - it might not be until the weekend!

I hope this helps... if anyone has any other ideas, please let me know!
 
My local tip won't take used hay, they say to put it in the black wheelie bin. Absolutely stupid. You can't even put it in black bin bags and take it as general waste to the tip, they won't take it.
 
Our used bedding (Fitch, hay and poops) goes in the garden waste bin which is emptied weekly and the soiled newspaper goes in the normal bin which is only emptied every three weeks.. Still not sure why our Council will take the Fitch paper bedding in the garden waste bin but not the soiled newspaper.
 
We were using the garden waste collection except for the soiled newspapers but after some missed collections Camden have said:

"Thank you for your email. I have been advised the crew will not collect garden waste contaminated with animal products.

Please place the animal products in refuse bins."

Seems crazy. Looks like we'll be filling up the general waste bin every fortnight, or take it to the tip and chuck it in the garden waste there. 😀
 
My Council won't take any pet waste even though I explained guinea pig waste makes great compost and that guinea pig poop isn't the same as dog or cat poop. They told me that the hay would tangle around the composters. I have a big back garden now so I shove it around the back on top where the rhododendrons are planted and up in the corner behind the huge oak tree. One of the rhodies looks like it may be dying and I'm hoping the guinea pig waste will do it good and revive it.🤔
 
My council will also not accept animal waste but I filled my compost bin really quickly and its gone down only slightly since last summer. I heard adding compost worms helps but I've never tried that. So I am a little sneaky and mix some of my waste hay/wood shavings with actual garden waste and I've had no problem with them taking it but even garden waste isnt taken over winter. I put the rest in the normal bin.
Since i started using bath mats to cover about 1/3rd of their home, my waste has decreased quite a bit. I have to pull the puppy pads I use out of the waste if add to the garden waste bin as they are not decomposable (I havent seen any that are which is a shame) & that is not a very pleasant task 😩
 
Darcey15 said:
I have to pull the puppy pads I use out of the waste if add to the garden waste bin as they are not decomposable (I havent seen any that are which is a shame) & that is not a very pleasant task 😩
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Why not invest in some reusable, washable puppy pads instead? I have and they are brilliant! I wash them in a horse bag along with the snuggle sacks and snuggle cubes. These are the ones I have https://www.amazon.co.uk/Inconti-Pe...ds=Washable+puppy+pads&qid=1580852642&sr=8-11 They are quite expensive but when you consider how expensive disposable puppy pads are work out cheaper after quite a short time. They can be washed at 60 degrees. I have cut them to fit my hutch too with no lack of performance.
 
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