Mar 14 (NHK) - Japan's infrastructure ministry is studying a system that will allow people to discard used diapers in the sewage system.
The study is aimed at helping parents and caregivers for the elderly to solve the problem of keeping soiled diapers until a designated garbage collection day.
Ministry officials say one possible way would be to develop a special type of garbage disposal that shreds diapers to allow them to pass through sewage pipes.
At a meeting of an expert panel on Tuesday, the ministry discussed desirable diaper materials and shredding methods.
The ministry presented plans to develop a prototype disposal device, and to install larger machines at elderly care facilities and condominiums to dispose of large amounts of diapers.
The ministry is aiming to begin demonstration tests with prototype machines during fiscal 2018.
Experts are expected to study such details as how to prevent sewers from clogging and covering the related costs. They are expected to make a decision by fiscal 2021.
Professor Hiroaki Morita of Nihon University heads the panel. He said that as Japan's population ages, the burden of disposing of diapers increases. He said the challenge is a big one and that the panel will address problems one by one.
