Karen and Karl Upston, parents to Jayden and Reagan, had owned a business selling both disposable and cloth nappies and regularly had the cloth vs disposable argument/debate raised with them often.
Many trials have been conducted in regards to this debate and the conclusion is that neither is any better or worse for the environment.
At the time, they had two children using disposable nappies full time, and were aware of how many nappies they were contributing to landfill each week. While they have always 
been very keen recyclers, they always felt the ‘guilt’ associated with using disposable nappies. Over the years they used a selection of both cloth and disposable nappies, but as busy parents the convenience of disposable nappies was very strong.
They decided to trial composting disposable nappies on a commercial scale, and contacted HotRot Organic Solutions (NZ) Ltd, manufacturers of the HotRot range of in-vessel composting systems, for advice and guidance. To their great delight, HotRot Organic Solutions (NZ) Ltd prototype composting unit was currently being stored in Auckland and they were offered the use of this technology for the trial.
The five month trial involved over 200 families, six pre schools, the local maternity hospital, elderly residents and a Christchurch Branch of the IHC.
Over the five months approximately 450,000 nappies were composted, which equated to 56 tonnes.
Based on the 2007 completed trial, the demand for this service has exceeded all expectations and therefore we identified a need for a commercial composting facility.
Working with HotRot Organic Solutions (NZ) Ltd, a custom built composting facility has been designed and is now fully operational in North Canterbury.