TerraCycle Enters the Baby Biome Health and Wellness Business

That soiled baby diaper is loaded with health data. TerraCycle Discovery, a division of TerraCycle, in partnership with one of the world’s leading diaper brands is introducing Tiniest Biome, a new service that evaluates the microbial content of a baby’s poopy diaper. Parents are provided with simple-to-do recommendations on nutrition, physical activities and skin health that can help influence the first three years of microbiome development to set up your baby’s wellness for life.

Research has shown that the microbiome in infant tummies is still a relatively blank canvas waiting to be shaped, according to TerraCycle. The microbes developing in a baby’s stomach during this time help to drive healthy brain development, immune system development, and weight regulation. For children under three, this is a unique window of opportunity because their developing microbiome can still be altered, according to the company. During this short window of time, parents have the power to make a lasting, positive impact on their child's future health and well-being by influencing their baby’s microbiome.

With Tiniest Biome, parents can simply drop a soiled diaper into an at-home diaper collection kit to start the process of discovery. Here's how it works:

• Bag It: Parents are invited to be among the first to sign up for a Tiniest Biome at-home diaper collection kit. No messy swabs or extra steps, just put baby’s dirty diaper in the collection bag.

• Unlock: The lab analyzes the poop in baby’s diaper to paint a clearer picture of microbiome health. The diaper sample provided will be separated by material type and the majority of the diaper will be composted.

• Act: Along with the snapshot of baby’s current microbiome, parents will also receive a range of simple-to-follow recommendations to help bolster the beneficial microbes related to brain development, healthy weight regulation and more.


“TerraCycle is continuously working to develop new and innovative ways to work with waste,” said TerraCycle Founder and CEO, Tom Szaky. “Where others see garbage that has reached the end of its life, we see opportunities. tiniest Biome is an example of that. It's a service that takes one of the most quintessential waste items – poopy diapers – and explores the microbial ecosystem in the stool sample to help parents set their babies up for a lifetime of wellness.”

Tiniest Biome is available to parents throughout the contiguous US, excluding New York and Delaware. To learn more about the service, visit tiniestbiome.com and take the quiz to learn more about microbiome development. To learn more about TerraCycle Discovery, visit terracyclediscovery.com.