Title: Analysis of municipal waste and management of baby nappies and sanitary napkins in the Slovak Republic

Authors: Viera Peterkova; Ivan Ilko; Romana Martincova; Karin Preinerova

Addresses: Department of Biology, Faculty of Education, Trnava University, Trnava, Slovakia ' Department of Biology, Faculty of Education, Trnava University, Trnava, Slovakia ' Department of Educational Studies, Faculty of Education, Trnava University, Trnava, Slovakia ' Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Slovak University of Technology, Bratislava, Slovakia

Abstract: In this article, diaper and feminine hygiene waste is analysed with a focus on the differences between large and small cities. The unit of analysis used is 5% of the total number of mixed waste collection bins in use in the area of interest. The collected data are compared with data on the number of children aged 0-3 years and data on women aged 13-45 years living in the area of interest. Waste from 31 local authorities was analysed as part of this work. By analysing the waste in 31 cities and municipalities in Slovakia, we obtained a cumulative 922.21 kg of diapers, which represented 10% of the cumulative mixed municipal waste (9,188.91 kg) in the studied municipalities. Statistical treatment showed no difference in the percentage of diapers between municipalities and cities (p = 0.441) and in the proportion of individual housing construction and complex housing construction (p = 0.463).

Keywords: diapers; waste; sanitary napkins; analysis; municipal waste; tampons; large cities; small towns; consumption; Slovakia.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSSOC.2025.150907

International Journal of Sustainable Society, 2025 Vol.17 No.4, pp.355 - 369

Accepted: 15 Mar 2024
Published online: 05 Jan 2026 *

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