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Diaper lawns

 Grow grass, feel good.
 
(0) 		  [vote for,
against]

Disposable diapers are amazing. The polyacrylamide filler can absorb huge quantities of water. They also account for considerable amounts of landfill, since a baby can go thru several in a day. Many trashed diapers just have a little pee on them.

Polyacrylamide is used to improve soil water absorption in dry and sandy regions. It is fairly expensive when purchased for this use (see link). Why not use old diapers to condition the soil?

Used diapers would be ground up, mixed with soil, then spread out as a substrate before laying sod. Diaper grindings could also be used to mix with soil when ploughing a crop field (non food crops only, to appease baby germ fearers) in dry regions where water is at a premium. Diapers would either be gathered via a recycling effort, or more practically would be collected at day cares and places where diaper wearers congregate. Any waste matter in the diaper would just be added fertilizer for the greenery.

—bungston, Jul 08 2003

Polyacrylamide gel for yard use http://www.biconet.com/soil/hydrogel.html
Costy! [bungston, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 06 2004]

Your baby's poo http://www.babycent.../refcap/551926.html
[FarmerJohn, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 06 2004]

Diapers in the desert http://www.nytimes....en=b46ea44ec4c42605
Probably they will use fresh, not recycled polyacrylamide. [bungston, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]


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Annotation:







       The mere thought of grinding up used diapers boggles my mind beyond further comment.
—DrCurry, Jul 08 2003
   

       he seems to have done his research. why is baby shit green? never understood that. +1
—po, Jul 08 2003
   

       Po - the same as geese, due to their constant grazing.
—hob, Jul 08 2003
   

       po - poo link
—FarmerJohn, Jul 08 2003
   

       Subject to government health approval (+)
—silverstormer, Jul 08 2003
   

       my baby's poo is not green, po. She's still breast feeding, and it's brownish yellow with light yellow chunks, like mustard seeds. My 2 yr old's poo did turn green, po, after he started getting some formula, so that might be your answer. [+]
—oxen crossing, Jul 08 2003
   

       wish I did not ask :(
—po, Jul 08 2003
   

       [T]ango [M]ike [I]ndigo.
—RayfordSteele, Jul 08 2003
   

       Stand back mr., imagonna hurl.
—thumbwax, Jul 08 2003
   

       It occured to me that the way to accomplish this is the shred the diapers, then immerse them in a vat of warm water, then filter out the insoluble bits. The hydrophilic gel will come out with the water, which can then be dried down before application. This would avoid the problem of dirty little ducks, bears and bits of elastic appearing up from the lawn.
—bungston, Nov 09 2003
   

       This poo (human) can not be used as fertilizer, due to its composition. Poo from a creature which is carnivorous does not breakdown the same way as vegetarian creatures' poo. This is why we use cow poo and pig poo to fertilize our gardens, and not dog poo (their food contains meat and other animal products) or dinosaur poo. Hey, all this talk about poo is making me hungry.   

       Also, what kind of "crops" would be grown in these fields that wouldn't be edible?
—longdecember79, Jul 21 2004
   

       My understanding is that most diapers and tampons use carboxymethylcellulose, which is extremely absorbent, but does not like to give up the moisture once absorbed. It is not like a sponge. You'd have to separate out the polyacrylamide ones out, but it could work.   

       When I read the title, I immediately pictured a special valve on the back of the clothes washing machine. When you wash out cloth diapers, you flip a switch and the poopy wash-water goes out into the lawn as fertilizer. however, untreated sewage is not really fertilizer, so scratch that idea. Plus, the SMELL!
—musicator, Jul 21 2004
   

       [ld79] Our local sewage treatment plant has bags of dried, um, *stuff* available to be purchased as garden fertiliser.   

       I presume most of this would be of human origin...
—philmckraken, Jul 22 2004
   

       Folk, folks - its not the poo but the polymer that is desirable here!
—bungston, Jul 22 2004
   

       // I can think of another reason we don't use dinosaur poo as fertiliser//
I nominate that as Anno of the Week.
—krelnik, Jul 22 2004
   

       //what kind of "crops" would be grown in these fields that wouldn't be edible?//
Oilseed rape for bio-diesel, sugar beet for bio-ethanol, wood for construction.
—angel, Jul 23 2004
   

       um.. I wish there was a good use for diapers.
—dentworth, Jul 23 2004
   


 

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