A 21-YEAR-OLD Barnard Castle man is ready to take the gardening world by storm with a product made from disposable nappies.

Mr Richard Hawlor, who is passionate about the environment, is horrified that eight million used nappies go to landfill sites every day.

Coupling them with a formula patented by his grandfather, Mr Wilf Tucker, he has come up with a product which, when combined with a liquid fertiliser, becomes what he is marketing as a "smart" plant food.

Mr Hawlor, who set up his business, Creative Marketing Solutions, last year with a loan from the Prince's Trust, has just been awarded another loan of £3,000 to develop his ideas further.

The plant food, brand name Nutrigel, is super-absorbent and slowly releases water. Mr Hawlor has now found a company in New Zealand which markets an environmentally friendly fertiliser called Agrisol. When Nutrigel and Agrisol are mixed they provide all the nutrients plants need, at a steady, controlled pace.

"I have used it in garden hanging baskets, and they go for months on end without needing watering," he said. "My customers tell me to throw away what they are using and to replace it with my product."

He found Mainfert, the manufacturers of Agrisol, on the internet and Mainfert was so enthusiastic about the marriage of his gel and their fertiliser that they sent their managing director, Mr Graham Roper, on a six week visit to Mr Hawlor's base in Galgate to set up the joint venture.

Nutrigel also has a wide agricultural use and can be used with agricultural spreaders and for growing systems, propagation and seed germination.

Mr Hawlor produces 500 litres of Nutrigel a week, but he is talking to a Dutch company which may be able to supply all the nappies he needs.

"I am not saying Nutrigel is the be all and end all, but it is a safe, usable product," he said. "We are near the bottom of the league table at recycling waste and, if we do not get our skates on, we as a country are going to be in trouble."

Mr Hawlor has other marketable ideas in the pipeline, including recycling dog waste.

Nutrigel is available at Maxwell's in Barnard Castle and from Mr Hawlor on Teesdale 631695.