The average baby uses between 2,500 and 3,000 disposable diapers in just their first year of life, so it is not surprising that disposable diapers now account for much waste that isn’t recycled.

More than 187 billion used diapers are discarded every year and more than 20 million tonnes of them are burned or dumped in landfills globally every year. While collecting, cleaning and breaking diapers into their parts – plastic, cellulose and super absorbent polymer – is tricky and expensive, a lot of work on recycling has been done over the past decade.

In Taiwan, researchers invented a machine to quickly recycle them. In Italy, the world’s largest manufacturer – Procter and Gamble – is working with Angelini Group on a pilot recycling project that aims to turn them into plastic bottle caps and viscose clothing. Fater Group, which is the joint venture between the two, has created Pampers Nuova Vita in Verona to promote the experimental collection of used diapers for recycling. A phone app tells people where the nearest diaper recycling bin is located.