| | Category | EV | L21 | Sustaining a Greener Environment By Recycling Soiled Diapers |
| | Abstract | In this experiment, an innovative method was proposed to directly use |
| | soiled diapers in the soil to improve water retention and aid in the growth |
| | of plants. The presented method would save landfill space, and help to |
| | maintain a greener environment. This experiment consists of two parts: |
| | Phase I and Phase II. |
| | Phase I: To investigate whether diapers and their locations have any |
| | effect on soil moisture, 5 pots are used and filled with soil, placing soaked |
| | diapers at the top, middle and bottom layers of the soil. The moisture of the |
| | soil is measured at three different depths for 3 weeks, and the raw data is |
| | graphed to compare the moisture changes of the pots. |
| | Phase II: Applying the knowledge gained from Phase I, soiled diapers |
| | are placed at the top and middle levels of 4 pots with Dracaena plants to |
| | determine whether the plants can grow better. To observe the different |
| | effects of water and urine in soiled diapers on plants, the height of the |
| | plants in the pots are measured every other day over a period of 2 weeks. |
| |
| | The proposed experiment shows that soiled diapers not only improve |
| | water retention of the soil, but also significantly aids in the growth of |
| | plants by up to 100% more. When this method is implemented in large |
| | numbers, it will lead to less watering for agriculture and higher-yielding soil |
| | for dry, poor countries. |
| | Bibliography | Richer, Carlos. Disposable Diaper Net. Richer Investment Consulting |
| | Services, 2007. Web. February 17, 2011 |
| | “Environmental Impact of Disposable Diapers”, The Environmental Blog.org. |
| | Environmental Blog, Oct. 2, 2007. Web. February 17, 2011. |
| | “The Great Disposable Diaper Debate.” sustainer.org. The Donella |
| | Meadows Archive, n.d. Web. February 17, 2011. |
| | “Out of Sight, Out of Mind-The Disposable Diaper Myth.” |
| | libaware.economads.com. Libaware, 1988. Web. February 17, 2011 |
| | “Environmental Impact of Disposable Diapers.” Livestrong.com. Livestrong, |
| | June 15, 2010. Web. February 17, 2011 |