Improving resource efficiency and environmental impacts through novel design and manufacturing of disposable baby diapers

The annual market demand for disposable baby diapers exceeds 20 billion units (690 kt) in the European Union (EU). Almost 40,000 disposable diapers are used every minute, producing 1.3 t/min (dry weight) of waste. Based on the estimates in this work, this requires 90.3 PJ of primary energy and emits 2.7 Mt CO2 eq. annually. In an attempt to reduce resource, waste and environmental impacts associated with diapers, this paper focuses on novel...