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Cycle path, Source: Pixabay

Using toilet paper to build a cycle lane...Yes, it is possible!

Using toilet paper to build a cycle lane...Yes, it is possible!

An innovative waste recycling scheme is used in the Netherlands to turn toiled paper into a road-building material

The Dutch reportedly use around 180 000 tons of toilet paper every year. Two Dutch companies – CirTec and KNN Cellulose – have developed the technology to turn that waste into a road-building material. It’s being tested in the Dutch province of Friesland on a 1 km stretch of the bike path that connects the Frisian capital of Leeuwarden to the town of Stiens.

You probably wonder how is this possible? Cellulose is the main ingredient in paper, but the plant-based fiber has many other industrial uses too. The toilet paper flushes through to a waste treatment plant where it is filtered out, cleaned and sterilized at very high temperatures. The end result is a fluffy material or pellet that can be used in asphalt. The toilet paper can also be used for bioplastics and building materials. Much of the toilet paper in the Netherlands is high quality, which means that it is high in cellulose, resulting in a better end-product.

Source: World Economic Forum

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