[...] buried in each used nappy [diaper -Ed.] are hidden treasures, according to Marcello Somma, who is head of research and development at Fater, an Italian joint venture between Procter & Gamble and Angelini Group.
Fater has developed what it claims is the first industrial-scale process that can extract these valuable materials, and it is already up and running in Treviso, Italy. Now, as part of a project called EMBRACED, it is building a biorefinery next door to make best use of these recycled substances.
Technical minds have been trying to recycle nappies since 1992, says Somma, but it has proved to be a ball of trouble.
"When you change a nappy you wrap it onto itself and so basically you have a kind of bomb of four waste types intimately linked with each other," says Somma. "There is plastic waste – polyethylene and polypropylene, paper waste – because there is cellulose, a super-absorbent polymer and the organic fraction – the human contribution."
Fater, which has been trying to recycle disposable nappies for a decade, has found the trickiest stage is at the start: opening it.
Hmm, the baby's first diapers must be especially valuable, containing the black tar they do.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 08 2018, @08:27PM (1 child)
So, the valuable parts seem to be:
High quality plastics for use in other plastic products
Waste matter for fertilizer
Cellulose for things like ethanol, polymers and fertilizers
(Score: 2) by Snotnose on Monday October 08 2018, @09:15PM
Now we know why ethanol-fueled says so many shitty things.
Why shouldn't we judge a book by it's cover? It's got the author, title, and a summary of what the book's about.