A stretch of the A487 Ceredigion coast road has been resurfaced using recycled nappies as part of a new initiative between eco-friendly infant care company Pura and nappy recycling ex[erts NappiCycle, with support from the Welsh government.

Wales Online reports that the new road surface on a 1.4 mile stretch of the road in Llanarth has now opened to the public, and contains over 107,000 used nappies, making use of some of the 400,000 tonnes of disposable nappy waste that ends up in landfill every year.

A used nappy can take up to 500 years to degrade, far outliving the babies they came from.

For the innovative road surfacing project, a total of 4.3 tonnes of recovered fibres from waited nappies were added to bitumen, which ‘glues’ the road surfaces together.

The resulting ‘nappy-enhanced’ asphalt is more durable than standard asphalt, and has a reduced carbon footprint, meaning it is an eco-friendly solution for resurfacing roads in the country.

A cost-effective process for recycling nappies was developed in 2009 by Rob Poyer, the founder of NappiCycle. Used nappies are cleansed, then plastics and cellulose fibres are separated for re-use. 100 per cent of the nappies are used, resulting in no waste going to landfill, and even the urine extracted from the nappies is put to use!

The recovered cellulose can be repurposed not just for road surfacing, but for notice boards for schools and offices, panelling, under laminate flooring and other insulation.

Baby care brand Pura, led by entrepreneur Guy Fennell, teamed up with NappiCycle in 2020. The brand was already looking for ways to remove plastic from baby wipes, and the partnership between the two firms seemed a logical progression as they looked for a circular economy solution for wipes and nappy waste.

Fennel has since addressed politicians about the environmental impact of nappy waste, which has earned him the moniker of ‘The Nappy Guy’.

The partnership already prevents over 800,000 nappies from being sent to landfill in Wales every week, and their mission is not to bring nappy recycling to the rest of the UK. This will start with a nappy recycling trial in Bristol, due to launch in the next few months.

Fennel said: “Despite extensive research, the technology for the perfect eco-friendly disposable nappy unfortunately doesn’t exist yet. As we seek that solution, we are determined to drive change and minimise the damage nappies are having on the planet. That’s why it was crucial that we partner with NappiCycle and make nappy recycling a reality for all UK parents.”

He added that the road surfacing project is just one example of how recycled nappies that otherwise would have ended up in landfill sites can be put to good use.

Poyer added that this type of road surface that makes use of recycled nappies has ‘huge potential’ for producing more roadways with a lower carbon impact.

“With this trial, we hope to demonstrate that waste nappies could be widely adopted in our roads, not just here in Wales, but right around the UK.”

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