Dirty Diapers Could Be Recycled Into Fabrics, Furniture Under P&G Joint Venture

Disposal diapers can take an estimated 500 years to decompose. That means if Henry VIII wore disposables, they’d probably still be around today. Although throwaway nappies are undoubtedly convenient, these mostly-synthetic items cause never-ending steams of waste that will take centuries to disappear. To help chip away at the 20 million metric tons of disposable diapers that are burned or sent to landfills globally every year, Fater —a joint venture between Procter & Gamble and Italian healthcare company Angelini Group —aims to give new life to dirty diapers by recycling them into everyday items such as plastic bottle caps and viscose clothing, Reuters reported. "Nappies are made of the highest quality plastics and we’ve shown they can be recycled to extract high-value building blocks," Marcello Somma, Fater’s director of research and development and business development, said in the article. Disposable diapers are typically made of plastics, cellulose and highly absorbent polymers. Here’s how Fater’s process works, as Reuters explained: Fater’s patented process starts with local waste management utility Contarina SpA, which collects used diapers and other [absorbent hygiene products] from curbside bins or large users like hospitals from more than 50 local towns, trucking them in to the 1,000-sq […]

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