LocationsPartners Explore Solutions to Disposable Diaper Waste
October 2, 2024
Nozipho Shongwe, mother of twins, experimented with using reusable diapers.
The Minister of Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Hon Jane Mkhonta-Simelane, announced a ban on single-use plastic shopping bags starting 01 December 2024 to combat pollution. However, the government faces another waste challenge: disposable diapers. According to Eswatini Revenue Services, the country imported around 70 tons of disposable nappies per month in 2021, a trend that continues as new children are born daily. Eswatini currently has 130,000 babies of diaper-wearing age.
The South African Cloth Network estimates that each baby generates about one ton of diaper waste annually, not including the elderly and terminally ill who also use diapers. Meanwhile, the 2017 National Census revealed that only 17% of Eswatini households have access to any form of formal waste collection system. As a result, according to the Eswatini Environment Authority (EEA), some diapers end up in waterways, rangelands, and farming fields, posing health risks not only to humans but also to livestock and aquatic life.
Eswatini Environment Authority Environmental Inspector for Waste Management, Ndumiso Mahlosane Magagula.
To address this challenge, EEA has partnered with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to find solutions for non-biodegradable single-use diapers. According to EEA Environmental Inspector for Waste Management, Ndumiso Mahlosane Magagula, disposable diapers are designed for a linear economy.
"They are meant to be produced, used and disposed of," said Magagula.
He spoke to participants at a consultative workshop on the control and management of single-use diapers organized by the EEA and UNDP on 02 October at the UN House. The participants included retailers, policymakers, academics, civil society organizations, and community leaders.
Magagula observed that consumption patterns have shifted from generating biodegradable waste, such as ashes, to non-biodegradable waste, like plastic. Unfortunately, due to the country's low waste collection rate, people often resort to unsustainable and illegal waste management practices, such as burning and dumping.
"The dilemma of single-use diapers is that they are everywhere," said Magagula.
As a result, these practices have both environmental and health implications. They contribute to filling landfills and releasing methane, a greenhouse gas that traps heat in the atmosphere, driving climate change. Additionally, they may lead to waterborne diseases such as cholera.
UNDP Programme Analyst, Nontobeko Mlangeni.
In response to the pollution caused by disposable diaper waste, the EEA, in collaboration with the UNDP Accelerator Lab (Acc Lab), is exploring potential solutions. The Acc Lab is UNDP's innovative arm that helps national partners explore, test, and scale solutions for complex sustainable development challenges. Funded by the State of Qatar and the Federal Republic of Germany, Eswatini's Acc Lab is one of 90 labs serving over 100 countries, working with national and global partners to develop radically new approaches suited to the complexity of today's development issues.
In finding solutions to disposable diapers, the Acc Lab and EEA first researched five communities under Ludzeludze Inkhundla, one of the country's most densely populated constituencies. According to UNDP Programme Analyst – Head of Solutions Mapping Nontobeko Mlangeni, the communities informed them that they were disposing of their diaper waste anywhere because they had no access to waste collection systems. Out of a sample of 610 households with children of diaper-wearing age, 589 participated in the study.
"From these households, 94% of the children used disposable diapers while 3% used both reusable and disposable diapers," she said, adding: "The remaining 2% and 1% respectively used reusable nappies and nothing. I believe that those who indicated that they do not use nappies might be relying on indigenous methods, which may need to be explored."
Mlangeni said the study revealed that on average, a baby uses five diapers a day in a country with 130,000 diaper-wearing children, generating an estimated 611,000 diapers per day, about 140 tonnes.
Participants at the workshop.
Following the research, Acc Lab designed an experiment with 80 participants—40 using disposable nappies and the other half using reusable nappies. According to UNDP Programme Analyst and head of experimentation Zandile Mthembu, washing of nappies, drying time and availability were the main concerns among caregivers using reusable nappies in urban and rural areas.
One of the study participants, Nozipho Shongwe, said the reusable nappies she received from UNDP were helpful because they were designed to make waste disposal easy, are simple to clean, and do not require bleach.
"As an unemployed mother of twins, the reusable nappies helped me save a lot of money," said Shongwe. "I used to spend an average of E3,000 ($173) monthly on disposable diapers and milk for my first child."
The challenge, however, is that reusable nappies are scarce in Eswatini because most retailers do not stock them. This presents an opportunity for small businesses to manufacture alternatives locally.
UNDP Resident Representative Henrik Franklin encouraged the participants to explore solutions to disposable diaper waste that present livelihood opportunities, especially for women, the youth and people with disabilities.
"For example, Matsapha Industrial Site alone produces 106 tonnes of textile waste per month," he said. "There is an opportunity to use textile waste to create alternative diapers, which can significantly increase the lifespan of landfills."
Deliberations from participants proved that while there are no easy solutions, if partners could work together and take a leaf from other countries, Eswatini can overcome this challenge.