Submitted by Georgia Vaz (georgia.vaz@mackenzie.br) on 2016-07-07T21:20:26Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Kátia Lucia da Silva Gonçalves Cunha.pdf: 8068781 bytes, checksum: ed19238146c2f43be9d3c93dc70712b7 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-07T21:20:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Kátia Lucia da Silva Gonçalves Cunha.pdf: 8068781 bytes, checksum: ed19238146c2f43be9d3c93dc70712b7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-02-19 / The growing concern for the environment, driven by the increasing difficulty in depositing waste in landfills, has encouraged the search for alternatives to the waste through recycling. The need to reclaim waste is not new, however, still is given little importance to proper environment dispose of diapers. In Brazil, several materials that could be recycled, are still designated to dumps generating, as well as, an environmental problem, an economic problem. After the implementation of the National Policy on Solid Waste, waste come to be considered good value, when is possible to be reused. Disposable diapers residues in most countries, has the final destination in landfills or incinerators and represent a large portion of the waste. Disposable diapers have a wide variety of natural and synthetic polymeric materials of high quality, which is desirable to reuse the same. The technologies currently known to recycle diapers are not satisfactory, due to the process of implementation issue that, generate large amounts of pollutants and organic waste, high spending of energy, in addition the difficulty in promote an efficient sterilization. This work aimed to research new technologies for the recycling of disposable diapers using radiation as a method for sterilization, also observe the effects of radiation on the mechanical, thermal, rheological and morphological properties of the obtained blends and composites. To develop this work and research of new technologies, was performed the characterization of the components of the disposable diaper, it was obtained and applied artificial solution urine, after were sterilized by gamma radiation, mechanical recycling, development of polymer blends and composites and obtaining and characterization of tests samples. The tests aimed to characterize the components of the disposable diapers and blends and composites obtained. Thermal, morphological, chemical, rheological and mechanical tests were performed. The results showed that irradiation acted differently and in isolation in each component of the disposable diaper in the presence of artificial urine solution, caused significant changes in superabsorbent polymers, improving the mechanical recycling process and enabling cost reduction in same. The recycling of disposable diapers can keep some properties and changing others. It was observed that the absence of the superabsorbent polymer influences to improve, not only the stages of recycling, as well as, in thermal and mechanical properties. It highlights the importance of recycling these materials, now worthless, however, of great environmental impact because of the advantages to providing low weight products, also obtaining economic and environmental advantages. / O crescimento da preocupação com o meio ambiente, impulsionado pela crescente dificuldade em depositar os resíduos em aterros, tem incentivado a busca de alternativas para o resíduo através de reciclagem. A necessidade de se reaproveitar resíduos não é nova, contudo, ainda é dada pouca importância para a disposição ambientalmente correta das fraldas descartáveis. No Brasil, muitos materiais que poderiam ser reciclados continuam sendo destinados a aterros sanitários gerando, além de um problema ambiental, um problema econômico. Após a implantação da Política Nacional de Resíduos Sólidos, os resíduos passaram a ser considerados bens de valor, quando possível seu reaproveitamento. Os resíduos de fraldas descartáveis, na maioria dos países, têm o destino final em aterros ou incineradores e representam uma grande parcela do refugo. As fraldas descartáveis possuem uma vasta variedade de materiais poliméricos naturais e sintéticos de alta qualidade, o que torna desejável o reaproveitamento dos mesmos. As tecnologias conhecidas atualmente para a reciclagem de fraldas não são satisfatórias devido ao problema de implementação do processo que geram grandes quantidades de poluentes e resíduos orgânicos, alto gasto energético, além da dificuldade em promover uma esterilização eficiente. Este trabalho teve como principal objetivo a pesquisa de novas tecnologias para a reciclagem de fraldas descartáveis pós-consumo, utilizando a radiação gama como método para a esterilização, também observar os efeitos da radioesterilização nas propriedades mecânicas, térmicas, reológicas e morfológicas das blendas e compósitos obtidos. Para o desenvolvimento deste trabalho e pesquisa de novas tecnologias, realizou-se a caracterização dos componentes da fralda descartável, obtenção e aplicação de solução de urina artificial, esterilização, reciclagem mecânica, desenvolvimento de blendas e compósitos e obtenção e caracterização de corpos de provas. Os ensaios visaram a caracterização dos componentes da fralda descartável e das blendas e compósitos obtidos. Foram realizados ensaios térmicos, morfológicos, químicos, reológicos e mecânicos. Os resultados mostraram que a irradiação, agiu de forma diferente e isolada em cada componente da fralda descartável, na presença de solução de urina artificial, provocou modificação do polímero superabsorvente, viabilizando o processo de reciclagem mecânica e possibilitando a redução de custos no mesmo. A reciclagem de fraldas descartáveis é possível mantendo algumas propriedades e alterando outras. A ausência do polímero superabsorvente, influenciou para a melhoria, não só das etapas de reciclagem, como também em propriedades térmicas e mecânicas. Destaca-se a importância de reaproveitamento destes materiais, atualmente sem valor, porém, de grande impacto ambiental, devido as vantagens em proporcionar produtos de baixo peso, obtendo também vantagens econômicas e ambientais.

Marknadens påstående om att ”använda så lite plast som möjligt” är vilseledande när 5 av 11 miljövänliga blöjmärken observerades innehålla 80-75% fossil baserad plast.  Detta demonstrerar att vilseledande marknadsföring är närvarande på marknaden av miljövänliga engångsblöjor. Enligt denna studie kan en produkt kan idag innehålla 80% fossilbaserad råvarumaterial och fortfarande bli klassad som en miljövänlig produkt. Förutom att gröntvättning vilseleder konsumenter så bidrar den med att bromsa utvecklingen mot en hållbar konsumtion. Detta eftersom gröntvättning förhindrar strävan utförd av uppriktiga miljövänliga företag och vägleder genuina konsumenter mot icke-optimala val. Som i sin tur ger upphov av effekten att öka produkt konsumtionen och minska rörelsen mot en mer hållbar miljö.  Det är därför av intresse att framhäva möjlig falsk marknandsföring genom att undersöka marknadens påståenden i jämförelse med laborativa resultat. De ”gröna” företag som undersökts var: Lillydoo, Naty, Pampers Pure, Kit & Kin, Bambo Nature, Love & Green, Moltex, Seventh Generation, The Honest company, Hello Bello, och Tooshies by Tom. Som referens valdes två “icke-gröna” märken Libero och Pampers. Dessa totalt 13 st märken undersöktes genom dem analytiska metoder FTIR, kol-14-metoden, och densitetsmätningar. För metoden GC/MS undersöktes enbart det ”icke-gröna” märket Pampers. Från dessa resultat kunde blöjans plast polymerer, okända ämnen, och den totala mängden biobaserat material per blöja bli identifierad. Dem polymerer som identifierades var polypropen, polyeten, polyetentereftalat, eller bioco polyprpylene/polyetylene, och även den nedbrytningsbara polylaktid. För dem ”icke-gröna” märkena, var den totala mängden biobaserade kol inom intervallet av 13-15%. För dem ”gröna” blöjorna så varierade den totala mängden biobaserat kol till 20-53%. Enligt dessa resultat framtagna av denna studie påvisas att endast en skillnad av 5% procentenheter behövs för blöjan ska marknadsföras som miljövänlig. De okända ämnena som observerades i Pampers blöjan var dioxiner och furaner på nivåer ng/kg materialprov. / The market claims of  “using as little plastic as possible” is misleading when 5 out of 11 “green” diaper brands analysed contain 80-75 % fossil based plastic. It is also evident that few brands have changed materials going against babies skin from fossil based plastic to plant based, although they claim only natural material touches babies skin. This demonstrates greenwashing present in marketing of environmentally friendly disposable diapers. Based on this study, calling a product “green” today is not related to any demands on product materials and parents are easily mislead. A product can include 80 % fossil based plastic and be considered green without going against the law. Not only will greenwashing mislead consumers, but it will also contribute to slowing the worldwide development towards sustainable consumption, since greenwashing may have a risk of discouraging sincere companies efforts to go green and guide truly genuine consumers towards non-optimal choices. This gives potentially the effect of unnecessarily increasing product consumption and thereby slowing the movement towards a more sustainable environment. It is therefore of interest to highlight possible greenwashing in the diaper industry. With the hope of creating customer awareness during purchase of “green” disposable diapers. This is accomplished by investigating the market claims compared to laboratory analytical results. The “green” brands under investigation were Lillydoo, Naty, Pampers Pure, Kit & Kin, Bambo Nature, Love & Green, Moltex, Seventh Generation, The Honest company, Hello Bello, and Tooshies by Tom. For reference values two “non-green” brands are chosen as Libero and Pampers. These in total 13 brands were examined using the analytical techniques  FTIR, radiocarbon dating, and density measurements. For the GC/MS method only the fossil based diaper brand Pampers was examined. From these experiments the diaper polymers, unknown substances, and total amount of biobased content may be identified.  The diaper polymers observed were polypropylene, polyethylene,polyethylene terephthalate, or the bicomponent fiber polypropylene/polyethylene, as well as the biodegradable polylactic acid. For “non-green” brands, the amount of biobased carbon content ranged from 13-15%. While for the “green” diaper brands the amount of biobased carbon varied from 20-53%. The results obtained from this study, show that some brands do not exchange more than  5 % of materials from fossil based to biobased and still contain 80% plastic while labelling themselves as green. As the certifications frequently used by diaper brands have too tolerant levels for fossile based materials, the “plastic” diapers can obtain certificates consumers falsely believe guarantees a green product. There is a big need for stricter laws on what a diaper needs to fullfil to be called itself green, equally so on how industry set up certification criteria. Today consumers who want to buy green diapers are too easily misled as majority of claimed green brands are not much greener than standard diapers.

In my thesis, I have covered interviews with ten women - mothers who have decided to use for their babies a changing system of modern cloth diapers. For the topic I have used a qualitative sociological research strategy. The purpose of the received data from the interviews was to answer questions about motivations and reasons for the usage of this type of nappies and decide what benefits they see in them. As our society is used to disposable baby diapers and looks at them as a norm, I was interested in people's reactions, which these mothers have faced and how they have coped with. Finally, I have tried to find out the role of the internet and the social media in this matter. The theoretical part is devoted to the history of cloth and disposable diapers. There I have put into the context the issue of cloth diapers with the principles of sustainable development and responsible consumption. In the practical part I have carried out an analysis of ten semi-structured interviews with mothers who have been using cloth diapers for babies, along with examples of expressions of activities associated with cloth diapers in social media on the internet.