Japan recycles nappies in drive to cut landfill waste
THE world’s first recycled nappies have gone on sale in Japan as the nation attempts to balance the needs of a rapidly ageing population and reduce the amount of waste that ends up in its landfills.
Unicharm Corp released its new “horizontally recycled” nappies at shopping centres across Kumamoto prefecture in southern Japan on Saturday.
Items that are horizontally recycled are turned into the same product they were originally, although the concept is unusual in the personal hygiene sector.
The previously soiled nappies come in sizes for both babies and adults, although the demographic crisis that looms over Japan means that demand is already greater for adult nappies than it is for newborns.
A pack of 42 children’s nappies costs 1,078 yen (£5.63), which is slightly more pricey than regular disposable versions.
Tokyo-based Unicharm said it has developed a new process that utilises ozone to sterilise, bleach and remove odours from the material of used nappies before it is turned into reusable pulp that is indistinguishable from new materials.
The company’s new product dates back to 2016, when it signed an agreement with the two local governments in Kagoshima prefecture that did not have an incinerator for their municipal waste and had filled a landfill site that was meant to meet local people’s needs for three decades in just eight years.
Officials estimate that 20 per cent of the waste from Shibushi and Osaki was disposable nappies and that figure was projected to increase as the local population aged.
Initially produced in limited numbers in 2022, the nappies were tested in hospitals and nursing care homes in Kagoshima before being made available to the general public.
The company insists the technology renders the new products hygienic and that bacteria in the recycled items is “below detectable limits”.