Turning diapers into compost gold

Compost made from baby diapers. At a dedicated area in Seine-Saint-Denis (93), Paris, a machine separates the plastic from the organic pulp, which is combined with wood shavings and coffee grounds to obtain compost. — AFP

The diapers of our beloved babies and toddlers represent a considerable annual mass of waste. Energy Observer Solutions met up with Les Alchimistes, a company in the Paris region, which recycles diapers from four daycare centres and manages to make a quality compost from this hitherto unexploited bio-waste.

Every year in France, consumers buy and throw away 3.5 billion diapers. To recycle this waste, the start-up Les Alchimistes recovers the organic matter from the layers to make compost.