The wide world of recycling

The wide world of recycling

By Editorial Staff, Resource Recycling

A company in Scotland has found new uses for something many parents never want to see again and China's scrap metal recycling industry takes a hit.

The Scottish Government has launched a pilot project that will recycle "nappies," or soiled diapers, into garden furniture or roof tiles, reports the Scotsman [1]. The project will run in five cities in Scotland, where 36,000 homes will be offered the chance to recycle their children's disposable nappies into new products.

The project is being funded by quasi-governmental agency Zero Waste Scotland to recycle some of the 450,000 diapers currently being landfilled every day in the country. The collected diapers will be shipped to Knowaste, a company based in West Bromwich, England. From there, the diapers will be steam-heated in a pressurized vessel for cleaning. Afterwards, they will be broken into plastic and fiber that will be sold to manufacturers.

The company hopes to process 36,000 tons of diapers annually, and if the pilot is successful, it will be rolled out all over the U.K.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, the metals recycling industry in China is struggling under the sagging economy, reports www.chinadaily.com.cn [2]. The news website's account focuses heavily on individuals who make their living buying and selling scrap metals and reports that business has slowed significantly. According to the story, there has been a drop in demand for scrap steel, which has affected other markets, such as iron.

"It is a tough year for the recycling business," said Dong Qinghua, a self-employed recycler in Beijing, who has worked in the business for more than 20 years. "It is harder to find both sellers and buyers."

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