Trial that turns used nappies into roads comes to Bristol

Three billion disposable nappies are disposed of in landfill every year in the UK, and each will take up to 500 years to decompose.

In an effort to reduce such staggering statistics, eco babycare business Pura has launched the UK’s first nappy recycling trial, and it’s set to commence in Bristol.

The initiative will see a “kerbside collection” of nappies and the recycling of hygiene products such as sanitary towels.

This six-month trial will take place from Wednesday, July 6, and will offer 47 households and one nursery group in Bristol free kerbside nappy collections, with waste collection services provided by Natural UK.

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Pura has calculated that the initiative could divert these three billion nappies to recycling, and in doing so, remove the equivalent of 72,000 cars from the road annually.

Guy Fennell, founder of the company isn’t far-fetched in his vision of a nappy-recycling future.

The technology to process 100 per cent of each soiled nappy already exists. Originally developed by Rob Poyer, the founder of NappiCycle, the trial has already begun in Wales.

In the last year alone, NappiCycle diverted more than 8,000 tons of nappies from landfill in Wales.

The recovered cellulose and plastic fibres can be repurposed to make anything from road surfacing and notice boards to panelling, insulation under laminate flooring and other forms of insulation.

The new technology has given parents across Wales a free, local authority-provided nappy collection and recycling service, with the nappy waste processed by NappiCycle.

Rob Poyer is hopeful for the future of nappy recycling: “The concept for NappiCycle started back in 2009, to provide a low impact, cost-efficient nappy and absorbent hygiene products recycling facility in Wales,” he says.

“As a company, we give our customers 100 per cent diversion from the traditional landfill disposal method as well as providing the added element of recovery and recycling. What has traditionally been viewed as a waste product has now become a resource.”

“I hope that the trial proves how a nappy recycling service can be provided effectively outside of Wales”, he says.

The plastics and cellulose fibres are repurposed to anything from road surfacing and notice boards to panelling and insulation under laminate flooring – Photo: Source PR and Pura.

The project will be funded by Pura and supported in an awareness drive by popular supermarket Asda.

Asda customer planning manager Hannah Essam said the company was “delighted” to be able to support Pura: “We hope this will be a successful trial which will lead to Asda shoppers living more sustainably.”

Pura is one of the world’s first carbon neutral baby brands, with a plan to get to Net Zero by 2025.

The nappies are recycled to make an additive used for surfacing roads – Photo: Source PR and Pura.

Matt Moreland, Pura’s sustainability director, commented on the future of baby care: “Nappy recycling is an immediate solution to the problem of nappy waste. It will prevent millions of tonnes of valuable resources from nappies and hygiene products from ending up in landfill or being incinerated,” he says.

The findings of the trial will be used to inform conversations with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and local authorities throughout the UK, about the feasibility of nappy cycling.

Costs and carbon impact will be among the outcomes monitored.

Main photo: Jill Mathers

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