DIAPER CONTROL STRATEGY FOR SA
DRAFT STRATEGY TO CONTROL DISPOSAL OF DIAPERS & RELATED PRODUCTS
Approximately 3 billion diaper units are sold in South Africa each year, and close to 900,000 tons of soiled Absorbent Hygienic Products (AHPs) including diapers are disposed annually in South Africa.
Minister for Environmental Affairs has recently released the DRAFT STRATEGY RELATING TO THE DESIGN OF PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE, RE-USE, CONTROLS, AND DISPOSAL OF ABSORBENT HYGIENIC PRODUCTS 2025 for public comment.
According to the Draft Strategy :
The practice of indiscriminate disposal is prevalent especially in rural areas and informal urban settlements, where there are no alternate waste disposal options available;
The variety of durable and waterproof materials used in the design of AHPs take between 200 to 500 years to decompose once disposed at landfills;
The choice of raw materials and the producers of AHPs do not consider sustainable disposal during research and design, such as faster decomposition or recycling.
The aim of the strategy is to ensure that by 2040, 100% of AHPs will be biodegradable
and/or compostable and all forms of AHP waste in South Africa will be diverted from
the natural environment and incorporated into an appropriate material recovery
solution.
The following FOUR strategic interventions or key performance areas are proposed to realise the vision and objectives of the Strategy:
Reduce AHP waste in the natural environment;
Design out AHP waste;
Recovery of materials from AHP waste;
Recirculate AHP resources into the economy.
The Draft Strategy can be accessed HERE.
Members of the public are invited to submit their written representations or objections on the draft Strategy.
