Hygiene & Washroom

Every day tonnes of feminine hygiene and disposable nappy/diaper/diaper waste is generated 'away from home' in retail, leisure and work washrooms. If you manage the washroom service contracts in your organisation or are hygiene service providers looking for a competitive edge, you will be pleased to know that there is a more sustainable solution than merely disposal to landfill. Knowaste is a specialist waste treatment company dedicated to recycling these absorbent hygiene product (AHP) wastes, diverting them from landfill and incineration and reclaiming valuable materials for re-use in new products.

Your company might offer full-service washroom management services or simply provide a sanitary waste collection and disposal service. Whatever your service, size and client base, your AHP waste is important to us and Knowaste can offer competitive gate fees. So join the vanguard of hygiene operators recycling with Knowaste and call the Business Developmen<

Parents, Carers and Users

Piloting kerbside recycling of nappies/diapers

Recycling trials for nappies/diapers and other disposable absorbent hygiene products such as incontinence and feminine hygiene products ( known collectively as AHPs), are underway in Scotland, Wales and Cheshire.This is such an exciting development - with the feedback from these trials early 2013 and the development of cost effective ways to collect this waste, nappy/diaper recycling may be closer than we think.

4 councils in Scotland are offering trial services to 36,000 homes - Stirling, Fife, Perth and Kinross and North Lanarkshire commenced trials Summer 2012. And the former Vale Royal area of West Cheshire, is also trialing weekly AHP collections.

Knowaste is already processing household AHP waste from a recycling pilot in Monmouthshire and Cardiff.

Residents interested in these schemes are asked to contact their council for more information and why not spread the word.

About Knowaste's Technology

Knowaste recycles nappies/diapers, feminine hygiene and incontinence products (also known as absorbent hygiene products or AHPs) and is first and only company in the UK to do so. The first Knowaste plant recently opened in the Midlands and more plants will follow in the decade to offer more capacity and be closer to more residents and businesses across the UK.

Knowaste might already be recycling your families’ AHPs – if you are in the vicinity of the Midlands and you have a child in a nursery or a relative in a nursing home or hospital, Knowaste could well be receiving their waste via that establishment's selected waste handler.

Environmentally, we are putting materials back into the market for re-processing that would normally go to landfill. Plastics and fibres reclaimed from used nappies/diapers and incontinence products can replace virgin materials and is the main reason Knowaste emits 70% less carbon compared to incineration or landfill.

Recycling nappies/diapers and other absorbent wastes

Starting a family often coincides with a greater appreciation of the environment. From correspondence we receive it is clear that, wherever we are in the country, there is a wish to know more about how to recycle our infants’ nappies/diapers locally.

"I have a 5 week old daughter and we are currently using disposable nappies/diapers. Can you let me know of any local facility where we can recycle them?”

"congratulations on developing a much needed solution to the problem of disposing of AHPs. I am also a father of 10 week old twin boys and we are currently using disposable nappies/diapers which we would love to recycle can you help us”


"we live in london and separate our child's nappies/diapers from other waste and would be interested in trying to recycle the nappies/diapers. If you could get back to us with any information in this regard we would be very grateful”

Our used nappies/diapers and incontinence pads are usually disposed of with the general household rubbish or black bag – only a few local authorities offer a separate collection for those who experience a build-up of waste over the week or fortnight between rubbish collections.

Developing Collection Services

Now that it is technically feasible to recycle this waste in the UK, the good news is that more and more local authorities are looking at this waste stream and are considering how they might logistically and cost–effectively go about introducing a nappy/diaper and other absorbent hygiene wastes collection service.

While it can take time to develop and test services, the momentum is building as noted in Scotland, Cheshire and parts of Wales. Local authorities’ waste departments share common goals - to increase recycling rates, divert waste from landfill and to meet carbon reduction targets. I am sure they would be interested in your views as they plan new services and means to meet these goals.

As more collection services are made available, we will sign post you to these. Please do visit the website from time to time or register for the Knowaste newsletter for updates. Or contact Knowaste at feedback@Knowaste.com.