Only since the 1820s, associated with the removal of baby garbage, it happened. Diapers were first introduced in the form of a square piece of flax or cotton flannel. The first mass cloth diapers were introduced by Maria Allen in 1887 in the United States. As soon as the world war began, and the labor force entered, the demand for diaper services arose. The first diaper with an absorbent pad was made from unbleached crepe cellulose fabric in 1942 by Paustrist in Sweden. Later, in 1946, Marion Donovan from the United States invented a waterproof fabric diaper. Then, a year later, in 1947, George M. Schroeder created the first disposable diaper with disposable non-woven fabric. In the same year, British mother Valerie Hunter Gordon developed a two-piece disposable diaper. After the 1950s, Paulistrom returned to the market with a new idea called the “roll diaper”. Such a diaper was made from rolls of cellulose engraved into a knitted mesh that could be cut to fit a child.
In the 1950s, a disposable diaper was used in several developed countries. In 1957, Molnlycke entered the market with a product of "paper pulp encapsulated in fabric and surrounded by a knotted mesh." By the end of the 50s, Vic Mills invented Pampers, and his diaper was released in 1961. 70s, disposable diapers were almost completely made of cellulose fibers. Sales of disposable diapers (DD) at that time were fast in developed countries and in some developing countries. Market penetration has had an exponential increase in the United States, Europe and Japan. By this time, in 1982, a super-absorbent (SAP) technology was created in single-row (Japan) (upper sheets of foamed molded spunbond production), and a cloth-like lower layer was created that replaced the conventional polyfilm, and the tapes were turned into Velcro by increasing A new surface cross-linking agent, which reduced the problem of the "gel block", a phenomenon that put liquids in motion when the absorbent was saturated with water.
In the USA, Western Europe and Japan, baby diapers have a market penetration of 95%. In Latin America, on the other hand, market penetration ranges from 15% to 75%. Moreover, in 1995, Mexico accounted for 48% of market penetration, and in 2006 this figure rose to 61%. Due to the high demand, large companies DD had machines that could distribute up to 1000 diapers per minute. The volume of diapers sold only in the United States in 2006 will be close to 18.6 billion units, about 20.4 billion units will be sold in Europe, and 4.9 billion units will be sold in Mexico in 2006. If you look at the anomalous amount of sales made on disposable diapers, it is extremely important that their material components be improved, since 18.6 billion units are likely to eventually accumulate at our landfills.
The environmental problems of disposable diapers have been a concern for many decades. However, today this problem has increased due to limited space problems in landfills and due to the impact of toxins on diapers and will lead to a further deterioration of our ozone layer and the environment as a whole. Sodium polyacrylate, superabsorbing polymers contained in disposable diapers, continue to be used. Research has shown that Americans set aside between 16 and 18 billion disposable diapers annually. Due to the lack of clear decisions on the disposal of diapers, they now lie on our grounds. Disposable diapers make up about 2% of municipal solid waste and from 3.5% to 4.5% of municipal solid waste. The problem with disposing of diapers in the landfill is that disposable diapers are filled with intestinal viruses, including the polio virus. There are also concerns about groundwater pollution arising from landfills. The truth is that disposable diapers contain traces of dioxin, an extremely toxic by-product of the paper processing process. It has been shown that this chemical can cause cancer and dioxin, which cause birth defects, suppression of the immune system, skin and liver diseases. In addition, the superabsorbent polymer (SAP) mentioned earlier can cause skin irritation and allergic reactions, causing vomiting, staphylococcal infections and fever.
Disposable diapers are not only harmful to the environment when discarded. In manufacturing, they also adversely affect the environment. The main component of diapers is cellulose pulp (35% in baby diapers), mainly from softwood. The environmental consequences of this include deforestation or reduced soil quality and loss of biodiversity. In addition, the production of pulp involves the intensive use of chlorine and alkalis, which often get into the wastewater and lead to the synthesis of other potential harmful substances, such as dioxins and furans. Finally, SAP is again very harmful because it causes CO2, CH4, SO2 and NO2 when disposable diapers are manufactured.
Although the production of these products is harmful, some of these companies have begun to "think green." One of the manufacturers that promotes the green type of disposable diaper marketing campaign is Huggies. The campaign they are promoting and pursuing now is called the Huggies brand bridge. Due to the fact that millions of diapers and plastic packaging are thrown into the trash, and ended up in our landfills, Huggies works with TerraCycle to help reduce the number of disposable diapers and their packaging to the environment. Parents are advised to collect waste, such as plastic packaging for diapers, and wipe the outer plastic packaging for shipment to TerraCycle. After that, TerraCycle converts the plastic used in the packaging of diapers into products such as toys, yogurt containers and candy wrappers, to name a few examples. TerraCycle Huggies Brand Brigade is already working with day, school and community groups to promote the collection and recycling of Huggies diaper packaging. The best part of this program is the incentive that TerraCycle offers to participants. Each Huggies Brand package will be provided with two TerraCycle points, which can then be used to buy charity gifts or provide $ 0.02 to a non-profit organization or a selected school.
Although cloth diapers are recommended and strongly recommended as a way to be more green, the reality is that they are expensive and most households with children, especially families with more than two children, cannot afford fabric diapers. In addition, with the new trend of both parents working in the public sphere, parents do not have the time to clean clothes as regularly as in previous generations. It considers disposable diapers as a product that is necessary and extremely important for the Western lifestyle. A positive aspect of the disposable diaper manufacturers is that they are competing in determining which company can provide the most efficient and environmentally friendly disposable diaper on the market. As a result, this product does not work with the same tendency as bypass, but attractiveness when buying this product depends more on environmental problems and on the characteristics of biodegradability as precursors in advertising these products. Disposable diaper manufacturers, such as Huggies, make efforts to reduce packaging, making disposable diapers thinner and using lightweight materials that can be packed more compactly. Reuse of disposable diapers occurs, for example, in collaboration with TerraCycle and Huggies. However, I found that other companies, such as Pampers, Luvs and Pull-Ups, do not advertise similar programs on their websites or in their commercials.
When I looked at the Blue-box website in Toronto, I did not see any signs that disposable diapers could be recycled. The truth is that disposable diapers are not made in such a way that they can be recycled. The material used for the various parts of the diaper is plastic. Polymers that store disposable items that are dry on the outside and absorbent on the inside are petroleum products. Inside the diaper there is a mixture of pulp and absorbent polymers. He sees that the only people who care about creating disposable diapers become recyclable materials — these are private companies such as Knowaste Technologies, Inc. This company has successfully recycled almost a ton (dry weight) of disposable diapers for one shift per week in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada is still one of the countries concerned about the recycling of disposable diapers. P & G Canada has invested $ 750,000 in cash and contributions to support diaper recycling efforts at Knowaste. A special secret treatment is to process superabsorbing polymers (also known as absorbent gelling material) in a large machine, washing disposable diapers in the bath. The liquid is then removed and returned to the grain, which is then removed using conventional equipment, causing a stream of high-quality, long-fiber flow. Knowaste currently patents its design system and has signed 20 hospitals in Toronto to provide disposable diapers for its prototype. Later, Knowaste plans to provide these services in kindergartens and kindergartens.
As for the diaper company that creates an environmentally friendly product type, Absormex, a Mexican own company, created the first biodegradable diaper called Natural Baby Supreme. This type of diaper decomposes without light or UV. The decomposition of this product occurs as a result of the process of chemical degradation. As a result, this disposable diaper becomes biologically active. The rate of this biodegradation at the landfill is 200% higher than that of ordinary diapers. In less than a month, the product dissolves in the environment.
In conclusion, it can be understood that the technology used to dispose of diapers is on the way to a promising result. Private companies that specialize in the decomposition of disposable diapers, do everything possible to save our environment and our planet from further deterioration. In addition, as mentioned earlier, disposable diaper companies produce biodegradable products and have an increased competitive advantage in the industry. However, after conducting studies on the processing of disposable diapers in Canada, the government has indeed not shown initiatives to introduce a system that would safely disperse diapers, as private companies have done. This should be another priority for the city of Toronto and the government of Canada. Examples can be taken from private companies, such as Knowaste Technologies Inc., to eliminate the toxicity that disposable diapers can cause at our test sites.
