Agromousquetaires, through its Cellulose de Brocéliande subsidiary, a major French diaper producer, has collaboratedwith North Carolina-based materials producer, Tethis, to bring the first known compostable diaper to market. The program, branded Couches Fertiles (Fertile Diapers) by Les Alchimistes, a young socially responsible company, is an initiative to demonstrate a sustainable, controlled and full-cycle process for compostable diapers from use to collection to disposal in a variety of institutions in Paris, France. 
 
According to a report from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, an estimated 20 billion disposable diapers accumulate annually in landfills in the U.S. alone, with Europe representing even larger amounts of similar waste. Europe leads global efforts to decrease landfill waste by supporting a circular economy for consumer products through policies such as the Paris Agreement. Goals of such policies require organizations to prioritize actions to reduce carbon, thus engaging in waste management practices including composting, recycling, and zero-waste initiatives. 
 
While many companies have been able to engineer compostable versions of several parts of the diaper, the absorbent material is typically made from environmentally persistent polymers, called polyacrylates. To date, there has been no bio-based alternative with the performance and economics necessary to make a compatible diaper work at scale. 
 
To remedy this, the Cellulose de Brocéliande team sought an innovative way to make a functional diaper composed of sustainable materials and identified Tethis as a key contributor for the trial, in which Tethis provided the novel ingredient as well as the expertise to embed it within their specially designed diapers maximizing effectiveness of the materials. In this unique collaboration, Tethis provided the breakthrough absorption technology for the compostable diapers while Agromousquetaires, through its Celluloses de Broceliande subsidiary, has developed an innovative diaper design and manufactured the diapers. Les Alchimistes managed the distribution, collection, and evaluation of the program – from the distribution of diapers to the evaluation of their performance through to converting the used products to industrial compost. 
 
“Our technology addresses a well-known ecological nightmare for society, but that to date has had no effective solution,” says Robin Weitkamp, Tethis CEO. “The partnership with Cellulose de Brocéliande and Couches Fertiles is one of my proudest achievements, as we have demonstrated the successful use of our material within the first mass consumer trial of compostable diapers to market for a more environmentally conscious future with a partner that is driven to make it a commercial reality.”
 
In conjunction with Paris City Hall and the French Ministry of Ecological Transition, the Couches Fertiles program has demonstrated cradle-to-cradle sustainability of diapers by partnering with nurseries during the last two years. Couche Fertiles has provided thousands of diapers to nurseries to verify that diapers are effective to use. The nursery staff confirmed the compostable diapers being tested were as suitable as other standard diapers. Disposal of the diapers was also successful in a controlled, industrial environment. During the past two years more than 15,000 diapers have been successfully composted, demonstrating the viability of converting baby diapers from a landfill or incinerated waste and into a useful, safe and eco-friendly consumer product. 
 
“We are committed to finding a way to balance excellent performance in diapers without leaving a permanent waste” said Eric Vilmen, Head of Development at Cellulose de Brocéliande . “We view this type of product as inevitable and important for France and for society as a whole.”
 
As the pilot program accelerates, Cellulose de Brocéliande and Tethis are expanding their collaboration to evaluate the next steps to bring the compostable diapers to the market in Europe at commercial scale.