Frequently Asked Questions

Environment

What happens to used Pampers diapers after they are thrown away?

Used Pampers diapers are safely disposed of with household waste. Depending on the municipality's waste treatment system, a used diaper is usually transported for disposal into a landfill or incinerator. Once in the landfill, Pampers diapers behave just like other forms of household waste. They are readily compressed inside the landfill and occupy relatively little space. In an incinerator, they are burned with other trash and frequently, the heat is captured and used for energy.

Can a Pampers diaper be recycled?

No, not at this time.

Can you compost Pampers diapers?

For safety reasons, used diapers and other personal care products are not suitable for home composting systems.They are generally compatible with commercial-scale composting, such as mechanical-biological treatment facilities.

Are Pampers diapers compatible with incineration/burning?

Yes, Pampers diapers can be safely incinerated. They are fully compatible with burning in all incinerator technologies, including ones designed to recover energy, without the emission of substances into the air.

Can you recover energy from a used Pampers diaper?

Yes, it is possible to recover energy from used Pampers diapers, depending on their moisture content. Pampers are compatible with waste-to-energy incineration technologies and capped landfills, which capture methane and other gases for energy supplies.

Where does your pulp come from?

The pulp used in our diapers comes from softwood trees, like spruce and pine, grown in well-managed forests in North America. These trees are harvested as a crop, like cotton, in accordance with local environmental and legislative requirements. In some cases, we source our pulp from scrap wood chips from lumber and saw mills. Our pulp suppliers are required to be certified by an independent third party as practicing sustainable forestry.

Is the pulp bleached?

Yes, pulp is bleached to purify the cellulose in the wood so it will be absorbent. Our suppliers use elemental chlorine-free processes that do not result in the formation of dioxin or other pollutants from the former pulp-making process. In fact, in the U.S. pulp industry, elemental chlorine technologies were completely phased out by 2001 so most, if not all, disposable diapers are made in the U.S. with pulp bleached without elemental chlorine.

What have you done to improve the environmental profile of Pampers diapers?

The diapers we make today use less material than those we made 20 years ago. For example, in North America we’ve decreased diaper weight by one-third and packaging weight by two-thirds. And innovative technologies, raw materials, and product design improvements have led to significant reductions in energy, water use, emissions, and waste at our plants. We are working so that our diapers in the future will have less impact on the environment than even today’s diapers.

Where can I go for further environmental information and on diapers in general?

More information is available in P&G’s annual Sustainability Report at www.pg.com. Information on diapers in general is included in the Sustainability Report published by EDANA (an international trade association), which covers the social, environmental, and economic sustainability of diapers. You can download the report by going directly to EDANA’s Web site at www.edana.org.

Cloth vs. Disposable Diapers

What’s better for the environment? Cloth or disposable diapers?

Like all products, both cloth and disposable diapers have environmental impacts. In October 2008, the United Kingdom’s Environment Agency published an update to its 2005 Life Cycle Assessment study on cloth versus disposable diapers. The update confirmed the 2005 findings that showed there is no clear winner in terms of environmental impact between disposable and cloth diapers, once all factors such as water, energy, detergent, and disposal are considered.

Are disposable diapers more expensive than cloth diapers?

Disposable diapers provide great value for consumers, and are not necessarily more expensive than using cloth diapers. A cost comparison shows Pampers diapers total expenditure for consumers range at the low end of the cheapest home-laundered cloth diapers, and cost roughly half the price of a cloth diaper wash service.

Biodegradability

Are biodegradable diapers better for the environment?

At this point, biodegradability does not provide a meaningful benefit, since the preferred method of disposal for household waste in the U.S. is landfill or incineration. Very little degrades in a landfill no matter what it is made of – even newspaper – since landfills are designed to contain waste, protect the ground water, and keep air and water out. Nothing degrades in an incinerator.

Environmental Safety and Compatibility

Are the raw materials used in your Pampers diapers safe for the environment?

Yes. All of the component materials in Pampers diapers are disposed of with household waste and are safe for the environment following normal municipal treatment. Pampers diapers are made of materials that are also frequently used in a wide range of other consumer products.

Is the absorbent gel material used in Pampers diapers safe for the environment?

Yes, the absorbent gel material used in Pampers diapers is non-irritating, non-allergenic, mild to babies, and safe for the environment. When you dispose of a diaper with household waste, it may go into a landfill or incinerator. There, it does not present any harm to the environment. The absorbent material is compatible with all common municipal solid waste treatment.

Are the synthetic materials used in Pampers diapers safe for the environment?

Yes. All of the synthetic materials used in Pampers diapers today are fully compatible with disposal with household waste and safe for consumers and the environment. When you dispose of your diaper, it will go into a landfill or incinerator. The plastic materials are compatible with these disposal options. The synthetic materials used in Pampers diapers are common materials frequently used in a wide range of consumer products.

What about the colors used in Pampers diapers – are these safe for the environment?

Yes, the inks used to provide color on a Pampers diaper are safe for the environment. Less than 1 percent of the total diaper is made up of printing inks, which are used to add color. The pigments used in Pampers diapers have a long history of safe use in other consumer products, and do not adversely impact the environment upon disposal of the diaper.

Packaging

What have you done to improve the environmental profile of your Pampers packaging?

We have made continual improvements to Pampers packaging over the years. Over the past 20 years, we have reduced the packaging of Pampers diapers by two-thirds. The introduction of wipes refill packages has reduced average packaging weight by 56 percent in North America in the past 10 years.

Why don’t you provide a packaging material made of biodegradable plastics?

We continue to explore the benefits of different packaging materials, including ones that are marketed as biodegradable. However, the biodegradation of any package is very limited in modern landfills, and irrelevant in incinerators.