Growing Interest in Recycling Used Disposable Diapers: Business Opportunities to Expand, Trend Toward Decarbonization

There is growing interest in recycling used disposable diapers. With support from the government, an increasing number of local governments are starting to engage in recycling, and business opportunities are likely to expand.
―Significant increase in production of adult-sized products has increased sense of crisis, and a decarbonized society is also a strong tailwind―

Social interest in the recycling of used disposable diapers is increasing. Against a backdrop of the global trend toward decarbonization and the spread of SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals), more and more local governments are starting to recycle disposable diapers. In August of this year, the Ministry of the Environment compiled the results of a study on the “Project to Promote the Recycling, etc. of Used Disposable Diapers.” The goal is to triple the number of local governments engaged in disposable diaper recycling from the current 30 to 100 by 2030, and the national government will also support the introduction of recycling equipment for composite materials such as disposable diapers. As social interest grows, we can also expect business opportunities to expand.

●Ratio of general waste to 7% in FY2030

According to the Japan Sanitary Materials Industry Federation, an industry group made up of disposable diaper manufacturers, the production volume of disposable diapers in 2022 was 9.976 billion for infants and 9.32 billion for adults. While sales for infants and toddlers have been on the decline since peaking at 15,963 million in 2017, sales for adults have been on the rise due to the aging of society, with an increase of 48.2% compared to 10 years ago in 2012. and significantly increased. Overall, it is on an increasing trend.

Disposable diapers are made of pulp, resin, and polymeric absorbent material (SAP), and it is said that after use, the weight of disposable diapers increases by about four times as much as the SAP absorbs human waste. Naturally, diapers for adults are heavier than diapers for infants, and according to the Ministry of the Environment, the proportion of used disposable diapers in general waste was around 5% in fiscal 2020, but due to an aging society, the amount of disposable diapers will decrease in the future. It is certain that this number will increase, and is estimated to be around 7% by around 2030.

●Recycling required for decarbonization and resource recycling

Currently, used disposable diaper waste from ordinary households is mainly incinerated. This is because it contains human waste, which poses a hygiene problem, but when incinerated, the temperature in the incinerator drops because it contains a large amount of water, and combustion improvers are used to raise the temperature. This not only increases costs, but also causes damage to the incinerator. Another problem is that the amount of CO2 emitted during treatment increases accordingly. However, since pulp, resin, and SAP can also be recycled, there is a need to promote recycling from the perspective of resource circulation.

For this reason, in March 2020, the Ministry of the Environment created the “Guidelines for the Recycling, etc. of Used Disposable Diapers” and strengthened awareness regarding recycling. In addition, as part of the “Project to Promote the Introduction of Advanced Equipment to Decarbonize Value Chains of Plastic Resources, Metal Resources, etc.”, we will support the introduction of recycling equipment for composite materials such as disposable diapers, and provide subsidies for demonstration projects. We are also implementing such measures. Although these measures are gradually changing the awareness of local governments, the current situation is that very few local governments are actually implementing them.

●Municipalities that are leading the way in recycling used disposable diapers

On the other hand, among local governments that are already working to recycle used disposable diapers, Oki Town, Fukuoka Prefecture, has teamed up with Total Care System (Hakata Ward, Fukuoka City) to turn pulp into construction materials, and resin and SAP into RPF (waste paper and waste plastic). sludge is recycled as a soil conditioner.In addition, Shibushi City, Kagoshima Prefecture is a Unicharm <8113> [東証Ｐ]We are collaborating with them to recycle pulp and SAP as materials for disposable diapers, and plastics as collection bags and boxes. In addition, Hoki Town, Tottori Prefecture has teamed up with Super Phase (Hoki Town, Tottori Prefecture) to reuse all of the material as RPF.

Although there are still only a few brands related to recycling disposable diapers, the range is expected to expand as the number of local governments increases. I would like to pay attention to companies that have already started initiatives.

●Pay attention to Kao, Unicharm, etc.

Kao <4452> [東証Ｐ]Since 2021, the company has been conducting demonstration experiments with Kyoto University and Saijo City, Ehime Prefecture to establish a carbon recycling system for used disposable diapers, with the aim of putting it into practical use from 2025 onwards. Carbonizing used disposable diapers not only sterilizes and deodorizes them, but also reduces the frequency of collection as the volume is significantly reduced. Additionally, burning disposable diapers releases CO2, but carbonization fixes carbon in charcoal, reducing environmental impact.The company uses Sanyo Chemical Industries, a major SAP company, <4471> [東証Ｐ]The company is also collaborating with other companies to convert used disposable diapers into carbon materials, and says that once they are converted into carbon materials, they can be recycled into soil conditioners.

Kurita Industries <6370> [東証Ｐ]is collaborating with Sams (Matsudo City, Chiba Prefecture) to collect and recycle disposable diapers (general business waste) in Matsudo City, Chiba Prefecture. Developed the separation processing equipment “Kurita Sams System”. Full-scale business development of this device began in November of this year. This equipment enables recycling by sterilizing and cleaning used disposable diapers and separating them into plastics and pulp.Using this equipment reduces the amount of waste, energy consumption associated with incineration, and CO2 emissions. It is expected that a reduction in The company plans to sell mainly to waste disposal companies and local governments.

Unicharm launched a project to recycle used disposable diapers in 2015, and in December 2016 began a demonstration experiment with the aforementioned Shibushi City and Osaki Town in Kagoshima Prefecture. The company has established technology to recycle pulp and SAP from used disposable diapers. By applying ozone treatment to recycled pulp and SAP, it can be used again to make disposable diapers. Additionally, in May 2022, the company began producing disposable nursing care diapers using recycled pulp as raw materials and shipped them to nursing care facilities in the Minamikyushu area. Steady progress is being made.

meta water <9551> [東証Ｐ]announced in March this year that it would collaborate with Unicharm on a disposable diaper recycling business. By utilizing unique technology that increases the reaction efficiency of ozone treatment, we aim to improve the efficiency of ozone treatment when recycling used disposable diapers into pulp. In addition to recycling equipment for disposable diapers, this technology can also be used to develop wastewater treatment equipment for factories, so it is expected to be used in new businesses.

In addition, LIXIL has developed a disposable diaper processing machine with a crushing mechanism and conducted social experiments in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, etc. <5938> [東証Ｐ]In May of this year, Amita Holdings signed an agreement with Kakegawa City, Shizuoka Prefecture to reduce waste and recycle disposable diapers. <2195> [東証Ｇ]I would also like to pay attention to this.

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2023-12-28 10:30:00
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