Japan introduces ‘horizontally recycled’ diapers in a first

On Saturday, April 20, a Japanese manufacturer of hygiene goods began offering the first “horizontally” recycled disposable newborn diapers for sale in shopping centers, according to Japanese media.

“Horizontal recycling” is a kind of recycling where items that have reached the end of their lifespan are utilized as raw materials to create new products that are comparable to them. Unicharm Corp. was the firm that worked on this idea.

According to media accounts, the diapers were first pulverized and cleaned by the corporation after they were collected, and then the components were separated.

Subsequently, the ozone treatment was applied to the clean materials to minimize germs and odor before they were formed into diapers.

According to Kyodo News, the business has worked on the recycling process in conjunction with two local governments in Kagoshima Prefecture.

In 2022, the company began producing recycled adult diapers. These repurposed diapers were first given to nursing homes and hospitals.

“We would want to change the norm from being resource-intensive to being cyclical. According to Tsutomu Kido, senior executive officer of Unicharm, “we have received approval from experts concerning the hygiene” of the diapers, as reported by Kyodo News.

Japan’s declining fertility rate
The declining birth rate in Japan is a problem that has lately prompted a diaper company to discontinue producing diapers for infants. Rather, the business increased adult production.

Oji Holdings said in March that after a sharp decline in production, it will complete its domestic manufacture of baby diapers in September. There was a high of almost 700 million yearly in 2001; up until this month, that number had fallen to 400 million.

A representative informed the news agency AFP that “the falling birth rate is one of the factors including which the demand for baby diapers is decreasing.”

In 2023, Japan had a record low in births, with almost twice as many deaths as live births.

For the ninth year in a row, fewer babies were born in 2023—758,631—a decrease of 5.1%, according to preliminary figures released in February. The total number of fatalities was 1,590,503.