Cat litter from the bottom of the North Sea

A SCOTTISH firm has found a new use for waste from North Sea oil fields ...as cat litter.

The recycling process could earn millions of pounds worldwide for Scotoil Group, an Aberdeen-based environmental services company.

And a pedigree cat called Buddy played a leading role in the development of the newly-patented method - the three-year-old family pet of Scotoil managing director Ian Davidson was the first to test the new litter.

Scotoil, which recycles contaminated clay drilling waste from thousands of feet beneath the seabed, now plans to sell the litter throughout the UK.

Mr Davidson, said: "Pedigree cats can be very fussy. When the new product came up to scratch for my cat Buddy I knew we were on to a winner."

Called Envirocat, the absorbent granules of ground rock and clay are likely to go on the market later this year.

Britain imports 500,000 tonnes a year of clay-based cat litter. Scotoil aims to produce 10,000 tonnes, initially for distribution in Scotland.

Even better for Scotoil is that the company is actually paid by the oil industry to take away the waste for recycling.

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