The 21st Shanghai International Nonwovens Exhibition(SINCE)

Diana Unicharm, part of the Unicharm Group, will install new recycling operations from Diaper Recycling Technology to process factory waste and reducing the amount of its waste stream that ends up in landfills.

Over recent years the disposable hygiene industry has signficantly reduced environmental impact, not only in raw material reductions but also in factory operation developments. By working with Diaper Recycling Technology, Unicharm is making meaningful sustainability developments across its whole product lifecycle. This latest installation is noted as the biggest multinational corporation moving to the latest generation of recycling technology.

Nguyen Ha Long, plant manager of Unicharm describes the systems to be installed as “by far the most advanced recycling technology available on the market today.”

Unicharm acquired Diana Hygiene in 2011. At the time, the Vietnamese maker of diapers and feminine hygiene items was said to hold a 30% marketshare in its local market.

Martin Scaife, CTO of Diaper Recycling Technology, adds: “After an extensive R&D period our R&D and engineering teams are proud to roll out the latest generation of low energy recycling technology. The newly developed airless technology is capable of recovering the clean, contaminant-free quality control reject waste stream using just one tenth of the energy of conventional air assisted technology with a process requiring only one-twentiet the floor space of traditional technologies.

“Also of importance, the plastic streams are processed over 400 times significantly improving their purity and allowing the reuse of the plastic stream in a multitude of other industries in the form of a standard PE/PP pellet mix. The SAP is removed without the need to pass it through buster or air transport fans, meaning the SAP can be recovered without compromising its overallquality.”

The newly developed technology is an enviromental breakthrough for the hygiene industry, eliminating the need for traditional landfill and incineration disposal methods. The significantly reduced operational costs of the new technology not only give customers a viable means to meet their environmental and CO2 emissions targets but also improves the financial and operating efficiencies of their factories.

Diaper Recycling Technology is available in capacities from 50kg to 1200kg per hour.