The Plantable Diaper: A Crazy Idea with Growth Potential.
On one of my many drives down I-5 from San Francisco to Los Angeles, I looked out on a barren, parched landscape that went on for miles and miles. The sun beat down on the land and the emanating heat created mirages in the air. My mind imagined a forest of native trees in its place. I thought about how different the air would feel. I once again pondered my own personal impact on the planet.
As a new father, the quiet guilt of having my daughter Stella go through hundreds or even thousands of diapers that were destined for a landfill was slowly beginning to weigh on me. An idea suddenly appeared: What if diapers could be plantable, right here on this barren land? Or on any land? I remembered an experiment from my elementary school days. I had used some cotton balls to help a seed germinate and grow inside a small glass cup. But diapers? An interesting thought. Most have a hydrogel layer that retains water. But can they be fully plant-based? And how would one go about incorporating a water-soluble seed packet into the diaper?
I began to meticulously research materials and imagined future systems that could be put in place to make this a potentially global initiative that addresses deforestation, hunger, carbon emissions, renewable raw materials, and most importantly, create a better world for our children. Here is what I have envisioned.
What is a Plantable Diaper?
A Plantable Diaper (Patent Pending) is a biodegradable diaper with an integrated, cold water-soluble seed packet. It utilizes plant-based materials and a highly-absorbent biodegradable starch-based hydrogel that allow the diaper and its integrated seed packet to be planted in various environmental scenarios.
Uses
A Plantable Diaper is an efficient mechanism for seed germination. Biodegradable hydrogels may lock moisture for days or weeks and act as a stand-alone fertilizer. Additional fertilizer is introduced in the form of solid and/or liquid waste from infants or toddlers, creating a self-contained, plantable unit. Seed packets can be variable, and selected after testing for different environments. As a single baby can typically utilize thousands of diapers that normally end up in landfills, there is opportunity for municipalities and states to rapidly boost reforestation efforts and achieve a reduced carbon footprint. There are also distinct uses for emergency fruit and vegetable production in developing countries, as well as potential uses in regenerative manufacturing and in home gardening. Here are four scenarios where Plantable Diapers can be utilized.
Scenario One: Municipality-Backed Reforestation Program
Municipality or state program allocates reforestation area, such as a landfill, an area cleared for prior lumber production, or an area prone to mudslides. Municipality or state program selects tree or plant species for allotted area. Criteria for seed selection may include, but is not limited to, the following:
- Tree or plant is native to the region.
- Tree or plant has a high oxygen yield/high carbon absorption potential.
- Tree or plant’s water consumption — a critical decision in drought-stricken areas.
- Tree or plant’s tendency to flower and attract and retain a higher bee population.
- Tree or plant’s fruit or vegetable yield for supplemental food production.
Plantable Diapers with municipality-selected seed packets are distributed for sale at grocery stores, drugstores, and online stores servicing the specific municipality. Each municipality’s Plantable Diapers may be labeled with a specific code to indicate the seed type contained within the diaper, so that the Plantable Diapers can be appropriately sorted at a facility prior to planting.
Municipality or state program provides parents and/or caregivers of newborns, infants, and toddlers with a specially-marked bin for Plantable Diaper collection. The contents of the Plantable Diaper bin are collected by the municipality’s waste management program, or any private collection service. The collection frequency may be once a week, and may be implemented via the same garbage collection vehicle as general waste or compost. The bin is emptied in a designated compartment on the vehicle. Depending on the municipality or state program, households that participate in the program could potentially receive a utility bill credit.
The Plantable Diapers are sorted at the municipality’s waste management facility, or an alternate facility, and transported to reforestation areas or orchards, where they are planted by seed type and lightly irrigated until maturity, a few weeks after the plant breaks through the thin PLA outer layer (backsheet) of the diaper. Biodegradable hydrogels are highly efficient at moisture retention during the initial seed germination phase, and would be ideal for drought-prone areas such as Southern and Central California. A Plantable Diaper would, in ideal conditions, require less water than traditional planting, as the biodegradable hydrogels retain moisture that is introduced via light irrigation.
Scenario Two: Emergency Fruit and Vegetable Production
NGOs, nonprofits, corporate sponsors, or government programs allocate shipments of Plantable Diapers to developing countries with food scarcity, lack of access to fruits and vegetables, and/or inadequate sanitation. Seed packets are allocated according to environmental and nutritional factors. For example: Plants and fruit trees that thrive in tropical environments are selected for those respective environments; whereas drought-resistant plants and fruit trees are selected for more arid environments.
Local governments would then be able to manage community orchards and farms planted with Plantable Diapers. Biodegradable hydrogels are very efficient at moisture retention, and would be ideal for drought-prone areas. In the initial growing phase, less water would be used to irrigate the orchards than when trees are planted the traditional way.
Plantable Diapers would serve four major functions in this scenario:
• Improved hygiene for infant and toddler health.
• The resulting plants and trees generate a reliable nutrition source for communities.
• Traditional disposable diapers are gradually eliminated from landfills, and waterways.
•Reforested areas reduce the negative impacts of erosion, such as mudslides during heavy rains.
• Contribute positively to global climate change initiatives.
Scenario Three: The Renewable Materials Model (Circular Economy)
Private or publicly-owned diaper manufacturers can create a closed-loop system where Plantable Diapers include the seed packets for the trees and plants the diapers are actually made from. These companies would privately collect the used diapers via specially placed bins, plant them in dedicated lots, and grow the same oxygen- generating, carbon-absorbing trees and plants used to manufacture the initial diapers, and in turn generate a potentially endless supply of biodegradable material. By-products can be used as biofuels to run machinery during production, and, if biofuel-powered vehicles are used in collection, a reduction in carbon footprint may be achieved.
Scenario Four: The Consumer Model
Private consumers may wish to purchase individual packages of Plantable Diapers for their own gardens, or as novelty gifts to new parents. A specific seed type or variety pack with different seeds for a garden or orchard may be included.
Any or all of the above scenarios may be possible in tandem. Distribution and coordination between state and local governments, NGOs, and manufacturers are key to the program’s success on a scale that is large enough to address reforestation, malnutrition, waste reduction, and carbon negativity.
Components
1. PVOH (Polyvinyl Alcohol) or similar, cold water-soluble seed packet
2. Plantable Diaper: Constructed from unbleached, plant-based materials such as (but not limited to) bamboo and natural starches, with a polylactic acid (PLA) backsheet. Plantable Diapers are designed with a biodegradable, cold water-soluble packet for seeds that are selected based on the above scenarios. During manufacturing, the seed packet is integrated between the biodegradable starch-based hydrogel layer and the thin outermost layer of the diaper (backsheet), on the area of the diaper that would be positioned directly below the infant’s solid or liquid waste. The topsheet that comes into contact with skin would be cotton-based instead of polypropylene-based. The fluff is made from bamboo or banana trees. All of these organic materials support the germination of seeds upon degradation. An illustration of the designated plant, fruit, or tree is printed on the outer layer of the diaper for reference. A municipal seed selection code may also be included (see Scenario One).
3. Biodegradable wipes made from similar plant-based or starch-based materials may also be included in the product packaging. The wipes may provide extra moisture and would be disposed inside the Plantable Diaper and naturally dissolve during or after germination.
Methodologies
1. Municipal Program (Scenario One): Designated collection bin and methodology for seed selection, collection, distribution, and planting.
2. NGO Program (Scenario Two): Distribution and educational strategy.
3. Corporate Model (Scenario Three): A closed-loop system for regenerative raw materials with the potential for a reduced carbon footprint.
4. Consumer Model (Scenario Four): Retail packaging of Plantable Diapers. The diapers in each package may all contain the same seed packet type, or contain a variety of different packets — for example, resulting in a grove of trees or a flower bed.
5. Licensing Model: This technology and process may also be available for licensing with any compatible and tested biodegradable diaper on the market.
The Plantable Diaper concept has been granted a provisional patent by the USPTO. I am now looking for the right manufacturing and distribution relationships to bring this idea to life.
If you’re inspired by this concept, please get in touch. Let’s work together and plant the seeds for a better future — one diaper at a time!
