Would You Live In A House Made From Dirty Diapers?

You might be willing to make some compromises in your life in order to benefit the environment … but there’s got to be a limit, right?

Well, one group of researchers in Japan is betting that at least some people would draw the line on the other side of moving into a home created in part out of used diapers.

How the process works

A new study finds that disposable diapers, which often end up rotting away in landfills, can be used as a substitute for some of the sand necessary in the creation of concrete. When replacing as much as 8% of the sand with diapers, evidence shows that the resulting structure remains sturdy and stable.

The thought of using soiled diapers to create the structure of a home might sound off-putting, but all of the dirty work is out of the way before construction begins. The researchers who studied the efficacy of this method spent plenty of time manually cleaning the diapers and then soaking them in a chemical that removed any additional waste.

From there, the diapers were dried and torn into small pieces before being added to the concrete.

Finding the right balance

A number of different mixtures were used to determine the optimum ratio of shredded diapers to sand. Upon reaching the perfect concoction, studies showed that the concrete did not contain a higher level of potentially harmful microbes than concrete produced the old-fashioned way.

Some concrete used in the construction of a residence — like non-load-bearing walls, support structures, and columns — remain structurally sound with as much as 40% of the sand replaced by diapers.

So if you can get past the notion of living in walls packed with diapers, you could feasibly save some money and benefit the environment.

Chris Agee May 20th, 2023

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