The Bluestone Resort is a 500 acre holiday resort near Narberth in Pembrokeshire. Located amongst ancient woodland, countryside and coast, the resort has become the first company in the world to use recycled nappy technology during the construction of its new range of Platinum lodges.
The first phase of the new lodge accommodation, which has been designed to connect guests with their natural environment, opened in May 2023. Each lodge is directly accessed by a walkway made from the equivalent of 60,000 recycled nappies, used in the production of the asphalt and installed by GD Harries.
Marten Lewis, Director of Sustainability at Bluestone Resort, said, “Every year, around 140 million disposable nappies are binned in Wales – let alone across the country. They’re a single-use plastic and, if landfilled, can take hundreds of years to degrade. Recovering and finding a new application for them has huge environmental benefits .”
The resort itself accumulates up to half a million nappies each year, so they are well aware of the impact of nappy waste. By incorporating recycled nappies into the infrastructure works surrounding the new lodges, the project helps to reduce waste and cut carbon emissions traditionally associated with laying and repairing roads and pavements.
SJ Roberts, the main contractor for the project, appointed GD Harries as we are an established asphalt contractor in South Wales and have experience laying roads made with recycled nappies.
GD Harries has previously worked with Welsh company, NappiCycle, who are pioneering the groundbreaking technology to recycle recovered plastic from used nappies. The nappies are cleansed before the useable fibres from the plastic are separated and used to reinforce the asphalt, in place of other traditional materials.
Rob Poyer, Managing Director of NappiCycle said “Our aim is to challenge ourselves and be disruptive in what we do in the recycling industry – and we found that the recoverable materials found in nappies creates long lasting, and more durable, asphalt.”
The project supports Bluestone’s responsible business credentials and aligns with their Free Range Future movement, with a focus on sustainable development and commitment to creating a circular economy on site.
As the number of projects like this continues to grow, it is believed that the ground-breaking application of recycled nappies in asphalt production could be widely adopted for road and infrastructure works throughout the rest of the UK, which will help to further reduce carbon emissions as well as support the green technology sector.
If you are interested in exploring the use of this technology in your infrastructure projects and for all your asphalt needs, the team at GD Harries is available to provide advice and assistance on 01834 860464.