Sustainable recycling of diapers is possible, but requires effort. The Ghent start-up Woosh collaborates with the Bruges waste intermunicipal company IVBO to enable the recycling of disposable diapers. The De Blauwe Lelie childcare center of OCMW Brugge is also happy to contribute. For the city council, this collaboration fits perfectly within the “Bruges Circular” policy.
8% of the residual waste in our country is diaper waste. Used diapers are not collected separately and are burned with the residual waste. This has a major impact on the climate. Woosh has already tested many recycling technologies for disposable diapers and examined their environmental impact. The Ghent start-up managed to create a unique business model.
“Daycare centers and childminders in Flanders produce around 10,000 tons of diaper waste every year,” says Jeff Stubbe, co-founder of Woosh. “With Woosh we can now set up a circuit for this target group in which the delivery of diapers is combined with the collection of diaper waste. This was a first important step towards a circular ecosystem for disposable diapers.”
The Bruges waste intermunicipal company IVBO, the City of Bruges and Childcare De Blauwe Lelie join the story and want to reduce their ecological footprint. After all, the circular economy is one of the pillars of the “BruggeNaarMorgen” climate plan, and Woosh's ecological diaper service is in line with that vision. The childcare itself is satisfied with Woosh's services.
“Eight of our childcare initiatives started with Woosh's ecological diaper service; Fourteen childminders will follow this year,” says Pablo Annys, chairman of the Blauwe Lelie. “In the long term, we will purchase an average of 250,000 diapers per year with De Blauwe Lelie. This collaboration allows 33 tons of diaper waste to be sustainably recycled. In this way we make this organization an increasingly sustainable organization and we significantly reduce our waste flow.”
“At the end of August 2020, I advocated in the city council for a more sustainable waste policy in our city's childcare initiatives,” says city councilor Karin Robert (GREEN). “The classic disposable diaper remains practical and popular, but puts enormous pressure on our ecosystem. I am happy that De Blauwe Lelie is participating in this project and is reducing the waste mountain together with Woosh and IVBO.”
“In the first phase, Woosh and the IVBO will convert the diapers into heat for our users through incineration,” says Minou Esquenet, alderman for Climate and Environmental Policy and chairman of IVBO. “This waste stream is ideally suited for our incineration plant and will be mixed with other waste. In a second phase, IVBO wants to contribute to avoiding diaper waste at the source and recycling the usable materials through innovative recycling technology. Through this collaboration we not only succeed in reducing CO2 emissions. We use IVBO's expertise to convert waste into energy and extensively recycle used materials, for the benefit of our region.”
IVBO was selected by Woosh as the preferred location to pioneer diaper recycling.
“We are pleased to make our site on Pathoekeweg available to Woosh,” says Jan Geeraert, CEO of IVBO. “We offer them the opportunity to conduct the final feasibility tests for the diaper recycling technology. We want to have the first industrial installation on our site next year that can process all Woosh diapers. This should also help us understand compatibility with other technologies. Together with Woosh we will then improve and upgrade that installation.”
In addition to a high-quality diaper service for daycare centers and childminders, Woosh has intensively searched for a way to recycle the collected diapers in recent years. The fact that both a technology and a location have now been found is an important milestone in closing the circular chain. The continued trust of Woosh customers and all stakeholders helps in this regard.
“Collaboration between different actors is essential to find a sustainable solution to the diaper waste problem,” says Any Renders from Circular Hub Bruges. “We are pleased with the efforts of Woosh, IVBO and all parties involved to strengthen the circular economy in Bruges and take the lead in sustainable diaper recycling.”
Another good thing to know: Woosh started its diaper service for daycare centers and childminders in Belgium in 2021. The company now collects more than 8.5 million diapers every year.
from left to right Tim Maenhout (De Blauwe Lelie), Pablo Annys (Alderman of the City of Bruges), Minou Esquenet (Alderman of the City of Bruges), Karin Robert (Municipal Councilor), Romiena Decoutere (Woosh), Elke Renders (circular hub Bruges), Jan Geeraert (IVBO) , Jeff Stubbe (Woosh)
