In Australia, we dispose of around one to two billion disposable nappies a year and at the moment almost all of it goes into landfill. Surprisingly, it is also one of the main problems in recycling contamination. But now companies are developing new ways of reusing dirty nappies and diverting them away from landfill.

Waste2Aromatics, a Dutch-led project, is working with a group of companies to convert the virgin wood fibre from recycled nappies, supplied by a UK nappy recycler, into bio-aromatics – raw materials for the chemical industry.

These products can be used in coatings, lubricants and performance plastics. Plans are underway to commercialise the technology.

Bio-aromatics could potentially replace traditional aromatics made from fossil fuels, if production can be scaled up. These kind of projects are potentially the future of nappy recycling.  

Other nappy reprocessing projects have developed products such as pet litter, waste containers, street benches, school desks, bottle tops and insulation material from the recovered fibre and plastic fractions of nappy waste.

In Australia, companies are also repurposing leftover nappy scrap. Any material that can’t be reused is sold on to local producers for horticultural and consumer goods, or processed into fuel pellets for cement factories.

Another way of dealing with the waste stream is to focus on nappy design, featuring an outer reusable pant with flushable or compostable inserts. While they are more expensive, they have been growing in popularity.

What was once a problem contained in the home through the use of cloth nappies and went on to become a major waste issue has now been redesigned to stop it from going into landfill again. Perhaps the disposable nappy will be a thing of the past and we will have recyclable versions.