A cat litter scoop has a handle part and a scoop part. The handle part includes a releasable locking mechanism and a button for releasing the locking mechanism. The scoop part is connected to the handle part via the releasable locking mechanism. When the scoop part is soiled, such as after scooping cat litter, a user presses the button to release the locking mechanism and jettison the scoop part and the user has no contact with the cat litter and no contact with the soiled scoop part. Preferably, the scoop part is biodegradable and may include paper pulp.