USED DIAPER COTTONS AS FERTILIZER AND ITS EFFECTS

ON THE HEIGHT OF A MONGGO PLANT

An Science Investigatory Project Presented to

In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the subject of
Science MAJOR RESEARCH

by:

DELROSE BARREDO
RAMONA EDANN CHAVEZ
MARINETH SEBOLINO

To:
SHAIRA CANTAL

September 2018
 CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

1.1. Background of the Study

In every household, we tend to have lots of wastes to be disposed. Normally, each

household will have an infant member that would require the use of diapers, which eventually adds up to

the pile of garbage to be thrown away. In this study, we would use this “bulk trash” to be a productive

recycled material as fertilizer. The features of the cotton inside the diaper might help to have a bigger,

healthier plant. We will find out what are the contents present in the cotton gel that made them a fertilizer

material.

On the other hand, monggo plants are known as cheap and nutritious food readily available

at any market. It is also known for its strong viability and adaptability at any conditions. These

aforementioned characteristics of monggo plant are one of the reasons why it was chosen as the specimen

in this study. Monggo plant, also known as ‘’balatong’’ at some portions of Batangas are commonly served

as vegetable soup, usually with sotanghon and malunggay leaves. It may also be served as a dessert or

“merienda”, by slow cook of sticky rice with coconut milk and sauted monggo.

These circumstances motivate the researchers to use urine-soaked diaper cottons and

monggo seeds to be able to reduce the garbage to be disposed in every household and lessen the expenses

for fertlizers. For a wider use, it may also lead to be an aid in the agricutural processes in the future.

1.2. Statement of the Problem

Monggo Plant” was conducted to determine the ability of used diaper cottons to be a fertilizer, particularly

on the monggo plant. Specifically, it also sought to answer the following questions:

1. What are the attributes of diaper cottons that can make them feasible as fertilizers?

2. What is the difference between the height of monggo plant with:

2.1. No diaper cotton;

2.2. 50g diaper cotton;

2.3. 100g diaper cotton;

2.4. 150g diaper cotton?

3. Is there a significant relationship between the amount of the used diaper cotton on the

height of monggo plant?

1.3. Significance of the Study

This study has a main goal of determining the effectiveness of the diaper cotton as fertilizer

which may lessen the waste to be disposed in each household and use them as recycled material instead,

which can help in plant development, as in agriculture.

Specifically, this study may be considered beneficial to the following:

The Farmers

This study will minimize their expenses and use the alternatives for fertilizing needs. It would

also be available and convenient to use for farming processes.

The Environment

This study will be beneficial to the environment since garbage disposal will be minimized by the

recycle of diapers instead of just piling them up to the dump site. It would also provide no harm in the

water nor air when diaper cottons were used a s fertilizers, compared to any other chemical fertilizers.

The Agriculture
 The agriculture will be benefited by the study at a large mass through providing a breakthrough

discovery that the fertilizer they have been spending a huge amount on, would only be found on used

diapers at no expense. This would save them up a huge amount for the capital and help them gain

bigger profit on their agricultural crops.

The Parents

This study will benefit the parents if ever they have gardens or planted vegetables in the

backyard, they don’t have to buy fertilizers any more since diapers can be an alternative solution.

Also, it is a way of minimizing the garbage disposals and at the same time lessen their household

expenses.

The Future Researchers

This research can serve as a reference in conceptualizing their own study. The findings could

also be used as a basis or support in their statements and concerns on the study.

1.4. Hypothesis

H1. There is no significant relationship between the amount of the used diaper cotton on the height of

monggo plant.
 CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

When asked to imagine the Earth in 2040, many scientists describe a grim scenario, a landscape so

bare and dry, it's almost uninhabitable. But that's not what Willem van Cotthem sees. According to

Cotthem (2016), a Belgian scientist turned to a social entrepreneur. "Tropical fruit can grow wherever it's

warm." You still need water, but not much. A brief splash of rain every once in a while is enough. And

voilà—from sandy soil, lush gardens grow. The secret is hydrogels, powerfully absorbent polymers that

can suck up hundreds of times their weight in water.

Hydrogels have many applications today, from food processing to mopping up oil spills, but they

are most familiar as the magic ingredient in disposable diapers. The difference with agricultural hydrogels

is that they don't just trap moisture; they let it go again, very slowly, almost like time-release medication,

into the root system of plants. That continuity of moisture is what brittle landscapes like deserts need to

become fertile again. Water activates a mineralization process, setting free nutrients in the soil so that life

can grow. But water alone won't make gardens flourish in sand.

So Van Cotthem, an honorary professor of botany at Ghent University in Belgium who has

helmed several international scientific panels studying desertification, invented a "soil conditioner" called

Terracottem. It's an 8- to 12-inch layer of dirt impregnated with hydrogels, along with organic agents that

nourish the natural bacteria in the soil. Van Cotthem's early experiments with his soil are now literally

bearing fruit on every continent except Antarctica. Where Terracottem sits, barren plots of land are now

fertile, and have already changed lives. In 2005, UNICEF invited van Cotthem to oversee the construction

of "family gardens" in the Sahawari refugee camps in Algeria. Since 1975, thousands of Africans in the

camps have lived in tents and shacks, dependent on the World Food Program to provide them with dry and
canned goods—a diet that left them vulnerable to disease. Today more than 2,000 pocket gardens there

provide healthy food.

If this technology is so miraculous, you might wonder, why wasn't it developed earlier? After all,

disposable diapers have been around since the 1940s. Until only recently, though, hydrogels were toxic,

and skeptics doubted that they could ever be made safe for consumption. There was no bigger skeptic than

van Cotthem himself—so much so that the day a research engineer from a German diaper company walked

into his lab and told him he'd cracked the nut, van Cotthem said to his face, "I don't believe you." "OK,"

the engineer said. And he took out a spoon and ate the hydrogel. Van Cotthem was shocked. Then he said

to his visitor, "Please come back in a couple of months so that I know you're still alive." Meanwhile, van

Cotthem tested the samples, got promising results, and began researching the agricultural uses of hundreds

of kinds of hydrogels. When the engineer returned alive, van Cotthem was convinced. But new soil isn't

enough—people still need something to grow in it. Realizing that half the world routinely throws out seeds

that the other half needs, van Cotthem also launched a nonprofit organization called Seeds for Food that

asks people to mail in their unwanted seeds. "My office right now is full of pumpkin seeds people sent in

after Halloween," he says.

Scientists are exploring different uses for hydrogels. Enhanced soils, they believe, could be the key to

farms in space. The recipe is simple: a few drops of water and glass-like marbles to provide a kind of

scaffolding for roots in the soil. "Suddenly," van Cotthem explains, "you have a rich soil that can support

almost anything." But his sights are set firmly on this star system. "I do see the possibility of achieving

wonderful things in space," he says. "But let us first solve the problems here on Earth, starting with

offering everyone the chance to produce their own food. And we are certainly in a position to do so."

 According to Dyer (nd.) disposable diapers can keep your potting soil from drying out, especially

during warm, dry weather when containers require frequent irrigation. (Keep in mind, it’s fresh, clean

diapers we’re talking about!) Diaper Filling for Moisture Control Have you ever wondered how disposable

diapers hold so much liquid? You might be surprised to learn that these highly absorbable, throwaway

diapers container hydrogel – that’s the same stuff you can buy in gardening stores, usually labeled as water

retention crystals or something similar. They work because each little crystal swells up like a sponge,
keeping in moisture. For this reason, helping your plants grow with diapers is extremely plausible.

Interestingly, hydrogels are also extremely effective as an additive in high-tech bandages, often used for

burns or severe scrapes and abrasions. How to Use Diaper Gel in Plant Soil When using diapers in

containers, start with the cheapest diapers at your local big box store. Otherwise, you may be better off just

buying expensive gels at your garden center. Tear open a diaper and dump the contents in a mixing bowl.

Don’t bother picking out the little cottony bits – they absorb water, too. Add water until you have a thick

gel, then mix in equal parts potting soil. Put the stuff in a pot and you’re ready to plant. If you don’t want

the fuss and muss of ripping into the diapers, just peel away the layer that goes against baby’s bottom, then

place the entire diaper in the bottom of a container, with the plastic side facing down. If the container is

large, you may need more than one diaper. Be sure to poke a couple of holes in the plastic so the potting

soil can drain; otherwise, you may end up with root rot – a disease that is often deadly to plants. Is the Use

of Diapers for Plant Growth Healthy? You don’t need to be a chemist to understand that hydrogels are not

natural materials. (They are actually polymers.) Although a diaper here and there probably won’t hurt a

thing, it isn’t a good idea to use them excessively because the chemicals, which may contain carcinogens

and neurotoxins, will leach into the soil. Similarly, using diaper filling for moisture control isn’t a good

idea if you’re growing vegetables in containers. People who are interested in sustainable, environmentally

friendly, organic gardening usually choose to  and forgo benefits of chemicals – even the type that come

from baby diapers.

Cotthem, (2016). Disposable Diaper Farming. Retrieved September 08, 2018 from

https://desertificationwordpress.com/2016/10/03/disposable-diaper-farming-willem- van-

cotthem/

Dyer,(nd.). Using Diapers in Containers: Helping Your Plants Grow with Diapers.

Retrieved August 26, 2018 from https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/special/containers/using-

diapers-in-containers.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diaper

https://www.quora.com/How-safe-is-it-to-use-diapers-gel-to-feed-plants
 CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

3.1 Research Environment

The study was conducted on Cuenca Batangas, which has an area wherein the monngo
plants will be exposed to enough sunlight they needed to grow.

3.2 Data Gathering Procedure

The researchers followed the subsequent steps in gathering data to prove that urine
soaked diaper cotton was an effective fertilizer.

The researchers informed the adviser about the study. Right after having the
advisers approval, they gathered the necessary information from the experts that
will help them in conducting their study. With the advisers suggestions and
corrections, the researchers conducted an experiment to determine the effectivity of
the urine soaked diaper cotton as a fertilizer.

3.3 Procedures

A. Preparing the materials needed

Prepare first the materials needed in the study. The monngo seeds, 4 boxes, 2 kgs. of
soil and used diaper cotton soaked in urine.

B. Collecting used diaper

Collect used diaper soaked in urine from the nearby houses in the community.
C. Extracting the diaper cotton

Extract the diaper cotton from the diaper and weigh an amount of 50g, 100g and 150g.

D. Labelling the boxes

Label the four boxes as Box A, Box B, Box C and Box D.

E. Mixing the diaper cotton in the soil

Weigh an amount of 500g of soil for each box. For Box A, there is no amount of diaper
cotton to be putted. Mixed 50g of diaper cotton soaked in urine in the soil of Box B. On Box
C, the soil will be mixed with a 100g of diaper cotton soaked in urine and mixed the soil in
Box D with 150g of urine soaked diaper cotton.

F. Planting the monggo seeds

Plant 20 monggo seeds in each box and sprinkle it with an enough amount of water.

G. Measure the height of the monngo plants

After 2 days when the plant begin to sprout measure the height of the plants in
centimetre using ruler for 7 consecutive days.

G. Record the data

Record the data gathered in every observation in an index card.

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

SUMMARY

Findings

1. The diaper cottons contain hydrogels that can keep your potting soil from drying out, especially

during warm, dry whether when containers require frequent irrigation. These are the same stuff you can

buy in gardening stores, usually labeled as water retention crystals or something similar. They work

because each little crystal swells up like a sponge, keeping in moisture. For this reason, helping your plants

grow with diapers is extremely plausible.

2. The study revealed that urine-soaked diaper cottons provided differences on the height of

monggo plant wherein, Sample A with pure soil have an average height of 92.14 cm, Sample B in

soil mixed with 50g of urine soaked diaper cotton have an average height of 108.57 cm, Sample C

have the average height of 143.57 cm and lastly, Sample D wherein the monggo plants grew

rapidly as divulged by its average height of 172.86 cm.

3. There is a significant difference between the amount of the used diaper cotton on the

height of monggo plant. The study revealed that the greater the amount of the urine-soaked diaper

cotton that was mixed in the soil, the greater the height and rate of growth of the monggo plants

while the lesser the amount of urine soaked diaper cotton mixed in the soil as a fertilizer, the lesser

the height and rate of growth of the monggo plants.

Based on the findings, the following conclusions were drawn:

1. The diaper cotton, regardless if it is used or not, are capable of being an aid in the growth of plants

by keeping your soil from drying out. The diaper gel (hydrogel) is not feeding the plants nor fertilizing

them.  It only absorbs water and then releases it slowly.  This means you can essentially over-water your

plants without drowning them. The gel is not used or absorbed by the plants in any way.  After the gel

dries out it just sits in soil waiting for you to water it again.  The plants get a slow and steady supply of

water, and you can water less often.

2. The amount of diaper cottons placed on the soil affects its height at a great extent. The greater the

amount of diaper cotton, the higher the monggo plant grows.

3. There is a significant difference between the amount of the used diaper cotton on the height of

monggo plant.

Recommendations

In the light of the findings revealed in the study and the conclusions drawn, the researchers

offered the following recommendations:

1. Test for other attributes of the diaper cotton to further testify the effectiveness of this material

as a fertilizer.

2. Subject the material for higher amounts and other tropical plant species since it would be more

suitable and useful for plants in dry areas.

3. Incorporate the use of fresh diaper cottons instead of used-ones to further highlight the

effectivity of diaper cottons alone without any other contributors, like urine.