The diaper waste mountain: 'We pollute our environment in the cradle and right before our grave.'

Less climate impact with washable diapers

With the washable diaper, a greener alternative has been around for decades, which we naturally support here at Repaid. In fact, when used properly, the environmental impact is about 30% lower compared to 'regular' diapers. And while this has long since ceased to be simply cotton cloth as it was in the last century, the prejudices remain persistent. A large group of people continues to experience this as less hygienic and especially a lot of hassle. In any case, more hassle than a simple disposable diaper. Not surprisingly therefore that not every parent, carer or care home opts for the eco-friendly alternative. So we keep throwing diapers onto an ever-growing mountain of waste.

Facts and figures

This is a bigger problem than you might think. Just look at the statistics:

• On average, a baby produces almost 300 kilos of diaper waste a year.
• As diapers keep getting better and more comfortable, children are getting out of diapers later and later. In 1953, this was still by 1.5 years. Nowadays, most children will be 2.5 to 3 years old before they are potty-trained (during the day). It's not until they are 4 years old that they mostly sleep through the night without wetting the bed.
• On top of that, we have to account for the fact that we are getting older as well. The waste mountain of incontinence materials for the elderly in the Netherlands has already surpassed that of baby diapers.
• This adds up to 2 billion used diapers being incinerated each year, or over 400 million kilos.
• That causes as much carbon emissions from current incineration as the energy consumption of 110,000 households.
• All in all, diapers and incontinence materials account for as much as 8% of residual waste in the Netherlands.

What is a diaper made of?

So the vast majority of disposable diapers now still end up in the incinerator, resulting in high emission levels. After all, diapers these days consist mainly of plastic. All the comfortable innovations that make our children wear their diapers longer are made possible by several layers of different materials.

The first inner layer consists of moisture-permeable polyethylene (PE) or polypropylene (PP), members of the plastic family. These plastics are known for their excellent moisture-conducting properties. Some manufacturers add a nourishing lotion to the inner layer, or perfume to mask odors. The outer layer of the diaper is often made of polyethylene or polypropylene as well, but woven textiles are common too. The material of this layer is of course not moisture-permeable. On the contrary, it ensures that nothing can leak through.

The absorbent intermediate layer is designed to absorb liquid. It consists of a mixture of fluff pulp and granules of a super absorbent polymer (SAP). Fluff pulp consists of cotton, wood or hemp fibers. SAP is present in the diaper in the form of a powder or granules. When absorbed by moisture, the powder or granule changes into a gel-like material.

Plastic, basically

Long story short, we're mainly burning various plastics when we fire up those incinerators with billions of diapers. And we make new diapers from oil, pumped up from the ground and then shipped and cracked. This linear production chain is extremely harmful to the environment and climate. And as you read above, this problem will certainly not be diminishing in the short term, especially due to the aging population.

Other markets

Countries around the Netherlands show similar figures and developments. In Belgium and France, countries where Repaid is also active, the waste mountains are proportionally about the same size. In terms of absolute numbers, France, with its 68 million inhabitants, naturally towers above the rest. Given that the aging population plays a major role in this country as well, we can see enormous opportunities in these countries to initiate the transition from incineration to recycling.

Diaper recycling

That gives us ample motivation to further develop our groundbreaking technology in the field of diaper recycling. Based on a robust thermal process without the use of chemicals, we are able to significantly reduce carbon emissions and recover as much as 95% of the raw materials.

Repaid strives for direct action for a better environment, starting today rather than tomorrow. Fortunately, diaper recycling is anything but a far-fetched dream. With our extensive experience in the recycling industry, we offer reliable technologies that are already in operation on an industrial scale. In addition, we ensure that our partners can continuously benefit from the latest developments. This way we ensure that every Repaid installation remains sustainable and profitable in the future.