December 20th, 2022Nappy recycling trial launches in Australia

CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, is part of a nappy recycling trial announced last week to help address the 1.5 billion disposable nappies that end up in Australian landfill each year.

The first trial of its kind in Australia, The Nappy Loop is being led by Kimberly-Clark Australia, with CSIRO, one of South Australia’s largest composters, Peats Soils and Garden Supplies, Solo Resource Recovery, and early learning and care provider G8 Education.

The trial has been underway in South Australia since July 2022 and uses anaerobic digestion to turn the organic materials in used nappies into nutrient-rich compost, as well as bioenergy which is captured and used to power the recycling process. Together, the team has collected and recycled almost two tonnes of used Huggies nappies.

The trial so far has shown that anaerobic digestion is a viable option for the recycling process. The plastic is recovered, and the team is evaluating options to recycle this material. This will inform the potential of scaling up the program in South Australia and nationally.

There are approximately 300,000 babies born in Australia every year and about 95 per cent of them wear disposable nappies. The trial represents a step forward for reducing plastic waste in the nappy industry as a single disposable nappy can take up to 500 years up to decompose while one newborn alone goes through 8-10 nappies per day.