Scientists claim children need to potty train earlier - because nappies are bad for the environment

Parents need to start potty training their children earlier because nappies are bad for the environment, scientists have claimed.

Around the world, approximately 300,000 nappies are thrown away every single minute, and experts are concerned that this waste is starting to pile up.

Absorbent hygiene products (AHPs), which include nappies, incontinence products and period products, now account for 160 to 200 million tonnes of waste each year.

Over 99 per cent of these are dumped into landfills or burned, contributing to plastic pollution, contaminating the water and air, and spreading disease.

Meanwhile, the average age of toilet training in the UK has risen from two years and four months in the 1950s to just over three years in the 2000s.

That is a 32 per cent increase in just five decades, which has led to millions more nappies making their way into our environment.

Lead author Dr Elze Porte, of University College London, told the Daily Mail: 'If children were toilet trained earlier, the number of nappies being used, and thrown away, could be reduced drastically.

'Using fewer nappies is better for the environment, but also saves money for families and may help with the bladder and bowel health of children.'

The big problem with nappies and other AHPs is that they are extremely difficult to recycle, making them one of the main sources of plastic waste globally.

Modern nappies are a complex mix of fibres, plastics, and super-absorbent materials, which are almost always contaminated with human waste and medical products.

While there are some recycling technologies designed to handle these products, even the most efficient only recovers a small part of the original materials.

In countries with adequate waste collection services, the remaining waste is usually put in landfill or destroyed in incinerators.

But in many lower-income countries, nappies and other hygiene products are simply dumped or burned in the streets - creating a serious pollution risk.

Dr Porte says: 'This makes absorbent hygiene products a major, yet largely unrecognised, contributor to the plastic waste crisis.'

In their paper, published in Nature Sustainability, the researchers suggest that one of the simplest ways to tackle this growing problem is to reduce the number of nappies being used by toilet training children sooner.

However, recent research suggests that parents are potty training their children later and later.

One team of researchers in the US found that only 40 to 60 per cent of children had completed toilet training by 36 months.

Similarly, a 2024 survey of teachers in England and Wales found that one in four school starters were not toilet trained.

They acknowledged that this will present 'challenges' for parents due to 'a lack of guidance, time pressures on caregivers, and the perceived convenience of disposable products.'

But it isn't just nappies that are contributing to mountains of waste; it is all of the absorbent hygiene products used by millions of people every day.

'In the UK alone, around 14 million people experience incontinence, many of whom use disposable incontinence products,' says Dr Porte.

'With a growing and ageing population, this problem is only getting worse, so it is important we act now to reduce the waste, and find more sustainable solutions for the waste that is inevitable.'

Since these people can't avoid needing these products, the researchers also argue that the industry needs to act and make AHPs easier to recycle and develop fully compostable alternatives. 

Dr Porte adds: 'What our research shows is that this is not a problem with a single solution. It requires coordinated changes across behaviour, technology, materials and policy.'