Are they really biodegradable ?

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Lots of people asks us ….
Gently is made from natural and biodegradable materials.
The contact layer is made from bamboo and the waterproof- backing is made from a special material based on corn starch which is certified biodegradable. The inside is wood pulp and a percentage of super absorbent polymer.
For more information, please email us.

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5 thoughts on “Are they really biodegradable ?”

  1. I have tried a sample of your product and was very happy with it so far. However my council won’t allow them to be disposed of in green waste bins and I don’t wish to compost them in our garden. Is there any advantage using them if they are just going to be thrown out with general rubbish, as I can’t imagine that the conditions will be right for them to decompose? Especially as I am then faced with deciding how to package them up for the rubbish bin collection. Do you have any advice for contacting a council to ask them to agree to collecting biodegradable nappies?

    • Rebecca
      Thanks for this post. Getting to a system of waste collection for industrial composting which is convenient and viable will take time. We are starting with some of the more leading edge councils to get their support for including Gently inserts in the green waste system for organic waste and compost. There are still challenges though in educating and communicating to everyone involved in the waste stream and we are working through these with one council.

      Several councils are planning to include food and organic waste from 2015 and Lismore in NSW are already doing this with compostable nappies. We intend to get support from all the councils as they move from straight vegetation to organic waste. Some are already looking at around 10% of domestic waste from disposable nappies as a real problem. They are more focussed on the collection than the landfill itself, but they are looking for solutions.

      At the moment, the only solution we can offer, which is practical is to use the existing waste stream (landfill). Because our materials are natural and biodegradable, they will break down much faster than existing disposables which will take 100 years+. It is true that the only certification available for biodegradable components around the world is through industrial composting and of course we have this for our waterproof layer. And yet, industrial composting systems are not set up to manage all these materials at this stage.

      As you can see there is no simple solution but we need to start moving the industry in the right direction. At the moment, we are still raising awareness of this problem and the people who know about it, like yourself, are really a small number of opinion leaders. Soon, we will reach a tipping point where knowledge about the problem enters the mainstream and that is when things will change quickly – councils and local community composting hubs will need to respond.

      I hope this helps.

      Sean

  2. I have researched a lot on your nappies and keep reading “Certified for Industrial Composting Standards for Europe and the US”… however there is nothing about ‘home garden composting’…can I put the inserts into my home compost bin? Cheers.

    • Katherine
      Thanks for your comment. Our nappy inserts have just been approved as a bio nappy by Lismore Council for collection in their green bins. In their tests, they biodegrade in only 2 months! Keep in mind that this is industrial composting but we have many customers who also do their own composting with Gently. They will take longer depending on the temperature and how the compost is maintained. Lots of variables but the short is yes. For hygiene, we are recommending that people only compost nappies with urine in them and not solid matter. I hope this helps.
      Sean

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