THE NAPPY LOOP RECYCLING PROGRAMME

CSIRO AND KIMBERLEY-CLARK HAVE PIONEERED AUSTRALIA’S FIRST NAPPY RECYCLING TRIAL TO HELP ADDRESS THE 1.5 BILLION DISPOSABLE NAPPIES THAT END UP IN AUSTRALIAN LANDFILL EACH YEAR.

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.

CSIRO Principal Research Scientist Anu Kumar said CSIRO was working with Kimberly Clark Australia to provide scientific validation of the Nappy Loop pilot project to help tackle nappy waste.

"Our research for this Australian trial will inform the potential scaling up of the program to help reduce the number of nappies ending up in landfill," Dr Kumar said.

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