Swindon Council Explores Nappy Recycling Program

Council members have been informed about the potential for recycling used nappies instead of discarding them. The Local Democracy Reporting Service reported that Swindon Borough Council deliberated on this concept as part of its strategy to enhance recycling percentages. Councillor Chris Watts, who holds the position of cabinet member for highways and environment, indicated that implementing this initiative could assist the council in achieving its objective of recycling 50% of its waste within a two-year timeframe. He pointed out that Carmarthenshire County Council currently gathers nappies for recycling purposes. This Welsh authority annually collects millions of nappies, from which plastic fibres are extracted to produce benches and components for road construction. During his address to the Build a Greener Swindon policy committee, Mr Watts clarified that specialist firms are capable of transforming disposable nappies, which are primarily composed of plastic, into materials suitable for reuse. “Carmarthenshire County Council is already collecting nappies,” Mr Watts. “The plastic is extracted and it can be used for things like plastic benches, and they can also be turned into material that can be added to road surfacing, it makes it stronger. It’s all sanitised”. Mr Watts further proposed the distribution of specific bags to residences to guarantee that the collection service would occur with the same regularity as standard waste collections. A representative for Carmarthenshire County Council stated that the council gathered six million nappies in 2023 exclusively and utilized the recovered material to construct more robust, durable roads. A council spokesperson confirmed that it collaborated with a firm named Nappicycle to process the nappies into fibres that possess comparable effectiveness to traditional materials, without incurring extra expense. The spokesman added: “Instead of landfilling waste nappies, they have become a valuable resource in the improvement of our highway infrastructure. This project reduces our reliance on virgin resources and creates a more sustainable waste management system”. Connect with BBC Wiltshire on Facebook, X, and Instagram. Story submissions can be sent via email or WhatsApp at 0800 313 4630. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.