Disposal tips

Disposing of incontinence supplies (wipes, changing pads, diapers) can be a challenge. Such waste has a high volume, needs to be stored odor free and disposed of cheaply. Big institutions such as hospitals and nursing homes often have special arrangements to dispose of diaper waste.

Such incontinence material has an energy density similar to brown coal and is thus perfectly suitable for incineration. In the German city of Meckenbeuren a special power plant was built to use diaper waste for that purpose. It is currently the only power plant of its kind.

As a private household the dimensions are of course a lot smaller, but the problem itself is just the same. Many public utility companies offer special conditions for diaper waste disposal against the production of a medical certificate. Therefore, we recommend contacting your local utility company to check with them if such special conditions are available.

Trashcans specifically designed for hospitals and nursing homes are very costly. There are, however, a number of different trashcan systems for home-use that promise odor free disposal. The manufacturer of the Diaper Champ has a note on their website stating that incontinence supplies cannot be accommodated by their product. However, in our experience their trashcans in size medium and large are suitable for incontinence use. They come with an opening that is about 14 cm (5.5 in) wide and 16 cm (6.3 in) deep, which can easily accommodate size medium adult diapers. Size large diapers need to be rolled up rather tightly though. One of the pail's big advantages is that it works with ordinary trashbags. It does not require expensive refill cartridges like other systems.