While production of diapers for children has been falling amid Japan's declining birth-rate, demand for adult products is expected to grow. - AFP
TOKYO: Faced with a swelling mountain of used adult diapers, Japanese manufacturers are finding new ways to recycle them - transforming waste into resources to curb incineration and carbon emissions, Kyodo News Agency reported.
This follows the Environment Ministry's 2020 guidelines promoting the recycling of used diapers, encouraging private companies and local governments to develop solutions.
While production of diapers for children has been falling amid Japan's declining birth-rate, demand for adult products is expected to grow.
The share of used diapers in general waste is projected to reach about seven per cent in fiscal 2030, up from around five per cent in fiscal 2020, according to the ministry.
Used diapers are usually incinerated with general waste, but their high moisture content makes them difficult to burn and reduces combustion efficiency.
Diapers are made from materials such as high-quality pulp, resins and absorbent agents. The pulp can be extracted and reused through a process called horizontal recycling, which transforms used products into raw materials to reproduce the original item, according to the guidelines.
Earlier this month, Kao Corp. signed an agreement with the town of Kamikatsu in Tokushima Prefecture, western Japan, to begin a demonstration experiment by year-end to produce an energy source that can serve as an alternative to fossil fuels using diapers collected in the town.
As Kao has been involved in a similar trial with Saijo city in neighbouring Ehime Prefecture since 2021, a company official said the advantage of the scheme is that diapers can be disposed of on-site and be reduced to one-twentieth of their original volume.
"We would like to explore what kind of business possibilities there are, although we still face challenges in terms of costs," the official said.
In collaboration with two municipalities in Kagoshima Prefecture in southwestern Japan, Unicharm Corp. has begun selling diapers made from pulp sterilised after being recovered from used products, as part of its horizontal recycling efforts.
Daio Paper Corp. has also joined diaper recycling projects with three local governments in Fukuoka Prefecture, also in south-western Japan. - Bernama/Kyodo
