From Waste To Worth: The Global Revolution in Diaper Recycling

The Green Revolution in Diaper Recycling: From Waste to Resource

Innovations in material science and closed-loop systems are tackling the millions of tons of annual disposable diaper waste, turning a crisis into an opportunity for a circular economy.

The Closed-Loop Revolution: A 'Cradle-to-Cradle' System for Diapers

A groundbreaking shift towards sustainability is marked by the commercialization of fully recyclable diapers, creating a complete ecosystem from production to rebirth.

Woosh & Ontex: Commercializing the Cycle

In May 2024, Belgian innovator Woosh partnered with hygiene giant Ontex to launch a "fully recyclable diaper," signaling a new commercial phase for closed-loop diaper systems. This initiative is built on several key pillars:

• Designed for Recycling: The products feature traceable, fully recyclable plastics and eliminate adhesives that hinder the recycling process.

• Reverse Logistics: "Buy-and-recycle" agreements with nurseries establish dedicated channels for collecting used diapers.

• Advanced Processing: The Bruges regeneration center can process thousands of diapers daily, diverting 2,000 tons from landfills annually.

"Traditional diaper recycling rates are less than 1%, but we are building a complete ecosystem."

— Alby Roseveare, CTO, Woosh

This integrated approach ensures that every diaper sold can return to the production line, with the resulting recycled plastic reaching food-grade purity for use in packaging and injection-molded parts. Bart Jansen of Ontex notes that while composting requires every single component to be biodegradable, recycling allows for gradual improvements in a product's recyclability. While reusable and compostable materials can reduce environmental impact, they currently face limitations in affordability and availability that restrict their scalability. Recycling, however, shows greater potential for incremental improvements and future disruptive innovations.

Japan's Breakthrough: Unicharm Rewrites the Recycling Rules

While the world struggled with separating superabsorbent polymer (SAP) and fluff pulp, Japanese giant Unicharm achieved a major breakthrough with an innovative ozone-based technology.

The process involves shredding used diapers to separate pulp and SAP. Then, ozone treatment sterilizes the materials, and a special acid treatment restores the SAP's absorbency. This method overcomes the flaws of traditional techniques that use calcium, which degrades SAP quality. The recycled materials are repurposed into new products, with regenerated pulp becoming "Poppy Paper" toilet paper and the recovered SAP being used in new adult diapers, a process commercialized in 2022.

Crucially, Unicharm has established a successful municipal partnership model. In Kagoshima Prefecture's Shibushi City, a system of special collection bags and bins allows citizens to turn 20% of their household waste (mostly diapers) into resources. This program has now expanded to 37 local governments across Japan.

The Economic Puzzle: The Core Logic of Diaper Recycling

"Diaper recycling is not a technical problem, but an economic one."

— Tom Szaky, CEO, TerraCycle

Typically, the cost to process a ton of diapers exceeds the value of the recycled materials. However, industry giants are restructuring the value chain to make it viable. Ontex's Bart Jansen emphasizes the challenge is making the business model economically feasible. Examples include:

• Procter & Gamble's joint venture in Italy pilots a "diapers-to-plastic" project.

• Kimberly-Clark's "Nappy Loop" program in Australia uses anaerobic digestion to produce bioenergy.

• The Woosh model demonstrates that nursery clients are willing to pay a 10% premium for a sustainable service, while the recycled plastic commands a 15-20% price premium.

Materials Revolution: Cross-Industry Innovation Reshapes Polyester Recycling

A significant breakthrough in sustainability comes from an unexpected collaboration between fast-fashion giant Shein and Donghua University. They developed an innovative process to recycle polyester from both pre- and post-consumer waste, such as textile scraps and PET bottles.

This technology chemically breaks down, refines, and reconstructs materials at the polymer level, allowing the recycled polyester fabric to be recycled multiple times without significant loss of quality. Shein is scaling this technology from the lab to a full-scale production facility, expected to begin mass production of polyester fiber by June 2025 with a target annual output of 3,000 tons. This initiative supports SHEIN's commitment to transitioning 31% of its brand's polyester to recycled materials by 2030.

The Future is Circular

For the nonwovens industry, the circular economy is no longer an option—it is the ticket to the future. As Ontex's Sustainability Director aptly stated, "Every milestone is not an endpoint, but a new starting point on the journey towards a fully circular system."