Team creates eco-friendly cat litter from rice husks

Team creates eco-friendly cat litter from rice husks

2025-07-18

From trash to treasure! Yilan’s Sanxing Township has unveiled a brand-new cat litter made from rice husks. Combining local agriculture with biotechnology, a team of young inventors created the natural and organic litter from the byproduct that was previously just discarded. It’s not only eco-friendly, but also provides a new revenue stream for farmers.

What is this that’s making Sanxing Township in Yilan smell like rice? It might look like ordinary cat litter, but it’s actually made from rice husks, a byproduct of the industry.

The husks are crushed and ground, then processed into thin pellets that can be used in cat litter. After being ground, they’re absorbent while still maintaining a pleasant odor of rice, eliminating the need to add perfumes that may give cats an allergic reaction.

Tsai Han-ting
Developer
When using it, you can actually smell a light fragrance. It’s a purely natural fragrance. So pet owners can rest assured that it’s safe.

There are more than 1,000 hectares of rice paddies in Sanxing. After harvest, the rice husks after being removed from the grains used to be burned as waste or the charcoal used as gardening soil. But now, this seemingly useless byproduct has found a use.

Lee Chih-yung
Sanxing Township Mayor
Hopefully this local product can help farmers use rice husks while also drawing young people back to earn money here. We hope to have a complete production line in order to produce and distribute all types of Sanxing agricultural products.

Over 90% of the cat litter in Taiwan is imported. Now, consumers can have a new choice thanks to this collaboration between local farmers, young inventors, academia, and local government. From the fields straight to the home, this new cat litter allows eco-conscious pet owners to live by their ideals.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
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#ecofriendly #catlitter #catowner #petproducts #rice #agriculture #Yilan #sustainability

廢棄稻穀變黃金! 青創團隊研發"環保貓砂"打造新產值

2025-07-18

廢物變黃金。宜蘭三星鄉首度推出「稻穀貓砂」，由青創團隊結合在地農業與生技，將過去只能當廢棄物處理的稻殼，搖身一變成為天然有機寵物用品。不只環保，也為當地農業打造全新產值。

什麼東西，讓宜蘭三星鄉長聞起來，有稻穀的香氣？原來眼前這些看起來是平平無奇的貓砂，其實是由稻米的廢棄物稻殼所打造的。

經過破碎、研磨，稻殼被處理成細緻顆粒，成為貓砂的主要原料。磨碎過後不只可以吸水，還保留稻殼天然的香氣，不需額外添加香精，就能降低對貓咪嗅覺的刺激。

[[生技業者蔡瀚霆]]
“使用的時候，其實可以聞到一股淡淡的香味，那這個香味，就是純天然的香味，然後可以讓寵物在使用的時候更加，讓飼主更加放心。”

宜蘭三星鄉約有上千公頃的稻田，收割後，稻米脫了殼，稻殼就是廢棄物，過去多半不是燒掉，或碳化後當當園藝用土，但現在，這些看似無用的副產物，找到了新生命。

[[宜蘭縣三星鄉長李志鏞]]
“希望將在地的東西，第一個幫農民去化這些稻殼，還能讓年輕人回來這裏有錢賺，我們希望流程做完整，未來在三星很多農特產品，可以很順利在這經銷生產。”

台灣貓砂九成以上是進口，這款貓砂是在地農民、青年創業者、學界與地方政府共同合作的成果。從農田走進寵物家庭，也讓環境友善的理念真正落實在日常生活中。

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Professionals from different fields of healthcare, technology, retail, investment, and academia gathered to explore how to effectively empower enterprise strategic decisions with AI, and apply AI in business, healthcare services, and patient care. The forum explored cutting-edge applications like generative AI, Agentic AI, AI-CRM systems, and AI-powered telemedicine.

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The award-winning stage adaptation of Life of Pi has made a stop in Taiwan, featuring intricate puppetry and stunning visuals. Kashif Ghole and Sonya Venugopal will take turns playing the role of Pi. Traditionally portrayed by male actors, Pi is reimagined by Sonya Venugopal as a female character, adding a new layer of emotional depth to the role.

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