Life cycle assessment of baby diapers : a cradle-to-grave analysis of disposable and reusable baby diapers | |
| Author | Udom Tiwtakhob |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.EV-25-18 |
| Subject(s) | Product life cycle--Environmental aspects Diapers--Reusability |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Environmental Engineering and Management |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | Diaper waste significantly contributes to municipal solid waste in many areas, particularly in developing countries. Many the life cycle assessment LCA studies on baby diapers are conducted in the European or American context, signifying that the findings might not be representatives for other areas around the world due to differences in resources and its environmental impacts and difference in human consumption behaviors. This research requires assessing the environmental impact throughout the life cycle of both disposable and reusable baby diapers, as well as examining various end-of-life (EOL) alternatives. The analysis considers a functional unit (FU) representing three years of a baby's life as “one toilet trained child” for a cradle-to-grave approach, utilizing the ReCiPe 2016 v1.03, midpoint (Hierarchist) using ISO 14040/14044: 2006 standards for LCA evaluation of diapers in Thailand. The study selected five categories that include particulate matter formation, ozone depletion, acidification on terrestrial, eutrophication on freshwater, and climate change for comparison. The findings show that climate change has the highest impact in comparison to the five impact categories of both diapers. Moreover, the reusable one has higher impacts on all categories than the disposable diaper. The climate change impact for disposable and reusable diapers is 1001.19 and 5042.12 kg CO2-Eq/FU, respectively. Conversely, the lowest impact is ozone depletion, with values of 0.29 and 1.44 g CFC-11-Eq/FU for disposable and reusable diapers, respectively. The most significant impact is on the manufacturing of disposable diapers and the lowest is on use phase; on the other hand, reusable diapers have the highest impact on use phase and the lowest is on EOL, which is not significant contributes to LCA results. For the EOL scenarios, the results show that climate change is still the main impact category. The climate change impact of landfilling, incineration, and the partial landfilling and incineration is 214.15, 126.38, and 171.48 kg CO2-Eq/FU, respectively. Landfilling has the strongest influence on climate change and terrestrial acidification. Nonetheless, incineration plays a significant role in the other categories. Moreover, analysis results for sensitivity studies reveal that the main factor influencing the LCA results is the behavior of diaper use. Significant environmental effect reduction is shown by the decrease in age, number of uses, and wastewater produced in the usage phase.Furthermore, cutting some processes such as by % during the production phase in disposable diapers could lower environmentally effects by a time. On the other hand, alternative materials like PLA have changed the effect of other environmental impact categories; they have also altered the mitigation of climate change impact.Diapers offer several hygiene benefits for infants, but they also have downsides for the environment. Therefore, it is important to train children to use toilets early and to cut down on daily diaper use to lessen our environmental impact. |
| Year | 2025 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Engineering and Technology |
| Department | Department of Water Resources and Environmental Engineering (DWREE) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Environmental Engineering and Management (EV) |
| Chairperson(s) | Ghimire, Anish; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Ekbordin Winijkul;Pramanik, Malay; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Royal Thai Government;AIT Scholarship; |
| Degree | Thesis (M. Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2025 |