Unicharm will turn used diaper material into new diapers which will be available on the market in 2022. Pulp from used diapers will be extracted and repurposed in new diapers. The Japanese company also plans to introduce more than 10 diaper recycling facilities between now and 2030 to reduce diaper waste. 

Unicharm has already launched a pilot program of diaper collection in the Tokyo area.  The program, which is being done, in partnership with nursing homes and children’s daycare centers, will form a recycling model that will eventually be rolled out elsewhere in Japan and internationally.

According to the company, the diaper recycling process has been simplified and made more efficient in recent years. Unicharm has been working on recycling methods since 2016 by conducting methods in southern Japan.  

Unicharm’s initiative comes at a time when there is an increasing amount of diaper waste, as Japan’s population rapidly ages and diaper demand grows among the elderly.

“More people will be using diapers in an aging society and the proportion of disposable diapers in waste increases,” says Kenji Ueda, general manager of Unicharm’s environmental, social and corporate governance division. “We want to aim for recycling that enables [diaper waste] to be remade multiples times [into new diapers], not just once.”