A European water and waste company is starting a pilot project to recycle disposable diapers into new plastic, compost and biogas, in an environmentally-conscious effort to divert them from landfills, reports Le Parisien.
Called the Happy Nappy program, the pilot project will collect used diapers and crush them down so that they can be separated into their various parts. The plastic coating will be recycled into new plastic, with the organic waste – which makes up 50 to 70 percent of the waste matter – used for biogas and compost
"On average, a baby will require 6,000 nappies in the first two years of life. None of this is currently recycled," said a statement from Suez Environnement, the company in charge of the project.
The pilot program will cost about $491,000. Suez has received 40 percent of the funding from the French Environment and Energy Management Agency, as part of a 2009 call for eco-industrial project bids.