Dirty diapers born again in Japan recycling breakthrough

SHIBUSHI, KAGOSHIMA PREF. –

Billions of dirty diapers end up buried or burned every year in Japan — more from seniors than babies — but a recycling breakthrough has given them a new lease of life, one hot mess at a time.

A pilot project, billed as a world first, reuses the main ingredient in diapers to make new ones, offering hopes to ease bloated landfill sites and respond to a growing need for adult diapers in aging Japan.

“Demand for baby diapers is falling. But a growing number of elderly people wear diapers, and more recently, even pets do too,” said Takahisa Takahara, president of Japanese hygiene product maker Unicharm, the firm behind the new initiative.