Japan Turns 2.6M Tons of Dirty Diapers Into New Ones

In the small towns of Shibushi and Osaki, something remarkable is happening to the 9.6 billion adult diapers Japan throws away each year.

A pilot project by hygiene company Unicharm is recycling used diapers into brand new ones. The process works by shredding, washing, and separating the materials, then treating them with ozone to sterilize, bleach, and deodorize everything completely.

The two towns already recycle 80 percent of their household waste, four times Japan's national average. About 25 years ago, they faced a crisis when projections showed their shared landfill would overflow by 2004, forcing them to get creative about waste.

Their efforts worked. The landfill that should have closed two decades ago will now stay open for another 40 years.

Residents separate their used diapers into special bags (with their names written on them for tracking) and collection trucks take them to the recycling facility. There, workers extract pulp, plastic, and super absorbent polymer, the three main ingredients in every diaper.

Unicharm already uses these recycled materials to make toilet paper and other products. Now they've achieved something new: using the recycled pulp to create fresh diapers that meet all safety standards.

The timing couldn't be better. Japan produced 9.6 billion adult diapers in 2024, compared to just eight billion for babies, as the country's population ages rapidly.

By 2030, Japan will throw away 2.6 million tons of dirty diapers annually, up from 2.2 million tons in 2020. Diapers will make up over seven percent of the country's trash by weight.

The Ripple Effect

Unicharm president Takahisa Takahara sees potential far beyond two small towns. "If we can transform the sense of guilt ordinary consumers may feel about using disposable products into something positive, it will become economically viable," he told reporters.

The company aims to partner with 20 municipalities by 2035 to recycle their diapers. By 2028, they plan to recycle not just the pulp but also the plastic and absorbent polymer from used diapers.

Right now, the recycled diapers cost about 10 percent more than regular ones and are sold only in local stores or distributed to care centers. But as the system scales up, prices should drop.

Japan's national government wants at least 100 of the country's 1,700 municipalities to start recycling diapers or explore the possibility by 2030.

For Kenichi Matsunaga, an environment official in Shibushi, the mission is simple: "Our top priority is to reduce our trash and extend the life of the landfill."

What started as a desperate attempt to save one landfill could become a model for aging societies worldwide.