US EditionPublished • loading... • Updated
Dirty diapers born again in Japan recycling breakthrough
Unicharm pilots diaper pulp recycling in two municipalities with 80% waste recycling rates and aims to expand to 20 municipalities by 2035.
- Unicharm is testing a world-first diaper recycling pilot in the southern Japanese municipalities of Shibushi and Osaki, which began in 2024 and requires residents to label designated bin bags.
- Japan's aging population uses more diapers for seniors than babies, and Unicharm president Takahisa Takahara noted growing demand includes pet diapers, prompting action to address landfill pressures.
- The recycling process involves ozone sterilization, shredding, and separating materials into pulp, plastic, and super-absorbent polymer , enabling Shibushi and Osaki to recycle 80 percent of household waste—four times the Japanese average.
- Unicharm converts recovered pulp into goods with less rigorous sanitary requirements, such as toilet paper, though recycled products are priced around 10 percent higher than items made from fresh raw materials.
- By 2028, Unicharm aims to recycle used diapers into new ones, while the Japanese government targets 100 municipalities by 2030 and the company targets 20 municipalities by 2035.
Insights by Ground AI
41 Articles
41 Articles
Japan makes breakthrough in dirty diaper recycling
Earth has a big diaper problem. Families in the United States toss out over 1 trillion of the soiled garments every year, making it the third most common consumer product piling up in landfills. They also aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. Thanks to their plastic polymer components, most diapers take upwards of 500 years to fully decompose. As far as a solution to our big number two problem, there are two main lines of thinking. On one hand, it…
·United States
Read Full Article
ABC FOX Montana+37 Reposted by 37 other sources
Dirty diapers born again in Japan recycling breakthrough
Billions of dirty diapers end up buried or burned every year in Japan -- more from seniors than babies -- but a recycling breakthrough has given them a new lease of life, one hot mess at a time.
·Missoula, United States
Read Full Article
Coverage Details
Total News Sources41
Leaning Left5Leaning Right10Center10Last UpdatedBias Distribution40% Center, 40% Right
Bias Distribution
- 40% of the sources are Center, 40% of the sources lean Right
40% Right
L 20%
C 40%
R 40%
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
