In the Netherlands, a wastewater treatment plant is extracting cellulose from used toilet paper for use in insulation, bottles, and bike lanes.
The two-year pilot project employs an industrial sieve that collects 900 lbs of cellulose daily. The cellulose is then turned into fluff or pellets. Previously, the toilet paper was incinerated after collection.
According to The Guardian, the Netherlands is a particularly appropriate market for the pilot project because the Dutch use relatively high-quality toilet paper with higher cellulose content.
This isn’t the first Dutch project to seek to extract value from sewage; AquaMinerals turns wastewater into calcite pellets for water softening, paints, and ceramics applications.