In the Netherlands, a bike lane made from used toilet paper has opened between the towns of Leeuwarden and Stiens. The CirTec-KNN Cellulose project created an asphalt additive by recovering and sterilizing used TP and turning it into a “fluffy” pellet with binding properties.
“It’s a strange idea for people that there’s toilet paper in the road. But when they cycle on it or feel it, they can see that it’s normal asphalt,” says Michiel Schrier, provincial governor of Friesland.
According to the Global Construction Review, the Dutch use 180,000 metric tons of toilet paper every year—much of its high in cellulose. CirTec is in talks for a larger-scale road project. Reclaimed cellulose can also be turned into insulation, paper or bioplastics.