Recycled cardboard turns into bio-degradable nappies
The VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland invented an process by which recycled cardboard turns into bio-degradable nappies
The process enables recycled paper and cardboard to be used as new raw material for nonwovens such as hygiene and home care products, including nappies, sanitary towels and cleaning cloths. There will be other applications in the future, particularly for cardboard because as raw material it is more cost efficient than fine paper.
The new process allows that bio-based nonwovens are now more competitive on price in comparison with plastic based products. The manufacturing costs of cardboard based nonwovens are around 20 % lower than for nonwovens produced from wood raw materials.
As we all know, nonwovens are essentially consumer goods being deposited, at the end of their lifecycle, in landfill sites. Nappies are in general produced in biologically non-degradable polyester.
Europe generates around 60 million tonnes of recycled paper, of which cardboard makes up around 40 %. The EU’s objective is to raise the proportion of recycled paper to 70 %.