What if we could turn waste into something more useful?
We're continously reinventing the disposal process to find alternative ways to process diapers, training pants and wipes in a way that minimizes impact and maximizes sustainability.
Rethinking waste
As we develop our unique set of end-of-life capabilities we look to different technologies to address the growing problem of scalable diaper disposal.
Our current approaches include commercial composting and pyrolisis using our patent-pending BYOCHAR™ installations.
Composting
We have partnered with a select group of licensed facilities that will intake our diapers and wipes, process to our specifications and compost to soil in 14-16 weeks.
Pyrolysis
Our pilot installation is trialing the conversion of our diapers and wipes, turning them into usable biochar while sequestering carbon and reducing landfill impact.
BYOCHAR™ explained
BYOCHAR™ explained
Biochar is a charcoal-like substance that's made by heating organic material, also called biomass, in a controlled process called pyrolysis. Although it looks a lot like common charcoal, biochar is produced using a specific process to reduce contamination and safely store carbon.
Biochar is characterized by its higher content of more stable organic carbon compounds compared to compost. It slowly decomposes thus becoming more effective in improving the soil physiochemical properties.
Biochar is speculated to have been used as a soil supplement thousands of years ago in the Amazon region, where regions of fertile soil called "Terra Preta" were created by indigenous people.
BYOCHAR™ benefits
Efficiency
The entire process takes hours from shredding to pyrolysis, converting up to 7,200 diapers every 10 hours or roughly 12 diapers per minute per site.
Carbon
Carbon sequestration through biochar involves pyrolysis in low-oxygen conditions. The resulting char can be mixed with existing soil, sequestering carbon with a mean residence time of about 2,000 years
Volume
The conversion process shrinks the size of waste stock up to 80%, further reducing the impact on the planet. Even if landfilled, the resulting char would reduce the volume to 1/5 of the initial waste stream.
Scale
The installations are small, energy efficient and geared for easy operation at scale. Our patent-pending process and technology includes a catalytic converter to clean potentially harmful nitrogen or sulfur gasses.
10,000,000 lbs and counting
10,000,000 lbs and counting
We’ve saved more than 10 million pounds of diapers from landfills and turned them into something useful. Join us and help protect your baby’s future with every diaper they use.
A few quick answers
We're continously innovating and each disposal solution has a differing set of advantages and disadvantages. Our composting process is slower and requires a larger physical footprint, while our BYOCHAR™ process requires larger capital investments.
Composting of human waste requires specialized conditions including safe material handling procedures and specific pre-processing steps. Very few composting facilities exist around the country that are properly licensed and equipped to handle this type of waste stream.
It is not. It is called anaerobic digestion since it uses very low levels of oxygen and very high temperature, under strictly controlled conditions, to convert organic matter into usable char.
Our post-compost soil is typically used for non-agricultural purposes such as filling the highway medians.
On the other hand, BYOCHAR™ can serve as a soil amendment, a concrete and asphalt filler, assists in air purification and water filtration, and an additive for pigment for paint and inks.