Composting of a mixture of VFG waste and used paper diapers
conference paper
Waste disposal in the Netherlands has come under great pressure in recent years. The policy of the Dutch government is directed towards radically restricting on the domestic waste to be dumped on the basis of social, spatial and environmental-protection considerations.
At present, however, paper diapers are thrown into the rubbish bin (grey container) and then dumped or incinerated. The used paper diapers largely consist of pulp and are therefore in principle suitable for being composted together with normal Vegetable, Fruit and Garden (VFG) waste.
Various studies on the compostability of a VFG waste/paper diaper mixture have demonstrated that a good-quality compost can be produced from it.
However, the used paper diaper also contains approx. 15 wt. % plastic film in addition to the compostable material. This plastic diaper film must not end up in the final product. It is therefore anticipated that an adjusted process route will be necessary for composting VFG waste/diaper mixtures.
At present, however, paper diapers are thrown into the rubbish bin (grey container) and then dumped or incinerated. The used paper diapers largely consist of pulp and are therefore in principle suitable for being composted together with normal Vegetable, Fruit and Garden (VFG) waste.
Various studies on the compostability of a VFG waste/paper diaper mixture have demonstrated that a good-quality compost can be produced from it.
However, the used paper diaper also contains approx. 15 wt. % plastic film in addition to the compostable material. This plastic diaper film must not end up in the final product. It is therefore anticipated that an adjusted process route will be necessary for composting VFG waste/diaper mixtures.
Topics
TNO Identifier
256025
Publisher
TNO
Source title
International Conference 'The Science of Composting', Bologna, Italy, 30 May - 2 June 1995
Pages
1-18
Files
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