Tweet

Nappies Diverted From Landfill Given New Lease Of Life

15 June 2012

Used nappies could be turned into garden furniture or roof tiles under an imaginative recycling scheme being trialled in Scotland

Each year around 160m nappies are sent to landfill sites in Scotland but a pilot scheme in four Scottish councils could put an end to that.

Over the next six weeks a disposable nappy recycling scheme will be offered to around 36,000 homes in Fife, Stirling, Perth and Kinross and North Lanarkshire.

The scheme will establish whether it is practical to offer a more widespread service in the future.

Funded by Zero Waste Scotland, the scheme will make it easier for parents in the four pilot areas to do their bit for the environment by recycling some of the 450,000 nappies currently dumped every day in Scotland.

The nappies will be recycled to create a range of products including park benches, garden furniture, decking, bollards, railway sleepers, fencing, roof tiles and cardboard.

Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead said: "Disposable nappies, although convenient, do have a huge impact on the environment with a staggering 450,000 ending up in landfill each day in Scotland. This innovative new scheme is a fantastic step forward for recycling and makes it easier for parents to do their bit for the environment.

"It's great that new technologies allow us to recycle even more materials. In this way, we can reuse our waste and treat it as a valuable resource with the potential to boost our economy."

Iain Gulland, from Zero Waste Scotland, said: "Piloting different methods of collection for these products allow us to evaluate the system people prefer and are most likely to use. Turning nappies and other absorbent hygiene products into products like decking and benches might sound surprising, but putting them to good use is far better than sending them to landfill. I would urge those living in the pilot areas to take up the scheme."

Darrel Moore