Dirty Diaper Recycling Is Now A Thing, Thanks To This Taiwan-Made Machine

Diapers comprise a huge chunk of the world’s waste. Parents in the United States and Australia use as much as 27.4 billion and 5.6 billion nappies are used per day, respectively. Add those numbers to the fact that the material takes 400 years to decompose and we’ll have mountains of dirty diapers all over the world.

With this in mind, experts have been working day and night to find a way to reduce such waste including innovating traditional nappies into cloth diapers. Still, the tempting ease and convenience of disposable diapers seem to leave busy parents conflicted about needing to wash reusable diapers every single time.

Fortunately, a group of researchers from Taiwan’s Chung Hua University was able to come up with a viable solution.

Diapers have always been a waste problem – but not anymore!

According to the Good News Network, the group invented a machine that can transform 220 pounds of soiled diapers into raw materials that are not only clean but can also be used as raw materials to manufacture things like absorbent pads, cardboard, paper, and even more diapers.

Soiled diapers are cleaned in preparation for the recycling process.

After cleaning, diapers are shredded for stratification.

Upon arrival on site, the soiled nappies are sanitized. After that, it undergoes a process called stratification where the reusable materials are salvaged.

Raw materials salvaged can be used to create paper, cardboards, and more diapers.

This includes polyethylene, fluff pulp, and sodium polyacrylate, which are later prepared for recycling.

Currently, the team is developing a prototype of the user-friendly machine that can turn more than 10 tons of dirty diapers into usable materials in a single day.

Aside from improving the waste situation all over the world, the innovative machine is also expected to save as many as 864,000 trees every year.

The Chung Hua University researchers’ invention uses very little water that is pegged to be even less than your average toilet. On top of that, it can reduce the need for incinerators to reduce the number of chemicals and toxic pathogens released into the atmosphere.

The best part of it all is that the machine is made to be cost-effective that it can be used in assisted living facilities and daycare centers all over the world.