Smart materials from Absorbent hygiene products (AHP) waste: a model of inclusive circular economy

Abstract: In recent decades, the concept of sustainability has undergone a profound transformation: from a marginal idea, it has now become a guiding principle in environmental policies and design practices. Two key milestones in this process are the Brundtland Report (1987) and the Caring for the Earth strategy (1991), which provided a global framework for sustainable living, consolidating sustainability as a guiding principle for environmental and design policies. However, the various definitions proposed by international bodies and organizations reveal a certain conceptual ambiguity, from the systemic definition put forward by the US EPA (2025), to the visions focused on responsible resource management by Greenpeace (2025), up to the United Nations 2030 Agenda (2015). In this sense, sustainability today appears as a shared but non-univocal concept.Absorbent hygiene products (AHP) represent a waste stream with a high impact in terms of volumes, management costs and raw material waste, but also characterized by a recycling experience already tested. Some industrial plants are financed in Italy currently being funded by the PNRR (National Recovery and Resilience Plan) as part of waste management and the circular economy, in Mission 2 (Green Revolution and Ecological Transition) and aim to support the construction or modernisation of innovative plants. The funds are intended to create a national network of plants that can give “true circularity” to this fraction of waste, preventing it from ending up in landfill or incineration.The market survey carried out by Legambiente and Mizzouri (2025) on extended producer responsibility (EPR) for diapers, based on over 100,000 data points derived from 502 interviewed parents, highlights both a low initial awareness of the end-of-life of AHP and of the available recycling technologies, and a significant willingness to pay more if a transparent and virtuous supply chain is guaranteed. This result underscores the importance of communication, trust in public actors, and service design in making technological recycling systems inclusive, fostering citizen participation and the valorization of secondary raw materials (SRM).This contribution describes the ongoing research project within the International PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering (40th cycle) at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering of the University of Perugia, conducted in collaboration with Gesenu S.p.A.The proposed case study concerns the new AHP plant of Gesenu at the Ponte Rio (Perugia) waste management hub, funded by the NRRP and designed for a capacity of 5,000 tonnes per year (Pera, 2025). The research analyses AHP collection systems at national and international levels, evaluating dedicated and accessible configurations for nurseries, families, older adults and people with disabilities, as well as the role of municipalities as mediators between the plant, citizens and producers.The research delves into the AHP treatment process, with particular attention to the recovery of SRM such as plastics and cellulose, and to the preliminary assessment of environmental and economic performance compared to traditional disposal scenarios such as landfilling and incineration. On the design side, a product concept is developed starting from the SRM obtained from AHP recycling, exploring applications that can make the material and emotional return of citizens’ separate collection behaviour tangible.In order to propose innovative solutions for collection systems, plant technologies and SRM outputs, several national and international case studies are analysed through comparative sheets, useful both for mapping the state of the art and as input to enhance the research case study. Among these, the RE-CIG project, launched in 2019, demonstrates how a complex urban waste stream - cigarette butts - can be transformed into SRM through an integrated approach combining technological innovation, social awareness-raising and institutional collaboration.In conclusion, the research aims to demonstrate the environmental, economic and social validity of Gesenu’s AHP plant, proposing an integrated model in which smart materials derived from recycling converge into a replicable circular economy ecosystem, contributing to sustainable innovation and social inclusion through responsible design practices and circular supply chains.

Keywords: Sustainable inclusive design, Circular economy, Secondary raw materials (MPS), Smart materials, Absorbent hygiene products (AHP)

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1007112

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