We consume 7 diapers every minute. That's why it's important to recycle them, as Fater does.

This company, which recycles 100% of the material, has already opened a plant to produce tools and street furniture from the recovery of used diapers.

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diaper recycling

Every minute in Italy, 7 thousand diapers. Granted, we all have families, as they say, but this figure raises some suspicions of waste, exaggeration, indifference. Even more so if we consider the inglorious end, for all of us, of diapers (for babies) and of diapers (for older people): 900 thousand tons of waste that end up in landfills.

DIAPER RECYCLING

How do we get out of this nightmare? How to turn waste into an opportunity, of new economic growth, of well-being, of truly sustainable lives? The first move, and here we are speaking to everyone, from local administrators to families, is to firmly anchor the diaper within the chain of collectionThere are already over 12 million Italians who do it, it would be a good idea for us all to decide to do it, and for diapers to have their own proper lane in the recycling chain. This is the premise for any recycling mechanism. The circular economy (that is to say: zero waste e so much innovation).

ALSO READ: Washable diapers: here's a list of Italian municipalities offering incentives for purchasing them.

DIAPER RECYCLING PLANT IN TREVISO

The second step, once the properly disposed diapers are recycled and reused, is to broaden the horizon of the production of objects, focusing on new consumer goods, more useful and more responsible, and on companies that do their job with rigor and competence. We told the story of the Matter di Treviso, where i diapers used are completely recycled, 100 percent. To then obtain other products. A unique plant in the world, even in Italy we are capable of performing miracles without always having to feel sorry for ourselves, which, if replicated in other parts of the country, for example in the southern regions, could create hundreds of jobs.

TO KNOW MORE: Tampons contain too many toxic substances. The French Agency for Health Safety has raised the alarm, ignored in Italy. Glyphosate is also involved.

FATER DIAPER RECYCLING TREVISO

But sometimes the devil, and waste, are in the details. And the further development of Fater's diaper recycling is still held captive by the notorious bureaucracy or the notorious slowness of politicians when it comes to deciding things that elsewhere in the world are made in real time. Fater wants to advance innovation and diaper recycling, and use the raw material which contain for street furniture, household tools and even submarine cablesThe factory already exists, complete with machinery, and the first workers have been hired, as well as some technical supervisors who are responsible for ensuring the quality and safety of the facility. But years have passed, too many years, waiting for a decree that the raw and secondary materials recycled by plants like the ultra-modern Fater plant in Treviso are no longer considered waste, and therefore unusable, but new products, and therefore saleable as well as manufacturable.

So, the true story of the circular economy, the one that touches us so closely in our daily lives and can improve everyone's conditions, beyond all the rhetoric, is yet to be written. We're just getting started, but if we all line up, each with their own role, to push forward, then waste will really decrease e well-being will really grow.

ALSO READ: Nature is us. How can we defend ourselves, even with small gestures? The answer is in this book.

In Askanews' report, an in-depth look at the Treviso diaper recycling plant:

(Photo credit cover image: Fatergroup.com)

The Terra Di Tutti project is a candidate for the 2020 Non Sprecare Award. To nominate your projects, follow the instructions provided. here. 

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