For a country with a reputation for cleanliness and hygiene, Japan has taken waste disposal in an unsavory direction with parents usually being asked to carry their children's soiled diapers home from day care.
To lighten the load on concerned parents, some municipalities are now considering having used diapers collected from authorized nursery facilities. Although public day care centers cite the costs of disposal as a reason for asking parents to dispose of dirty diapers, the more accommodating locations are already proving successful.
"The smell was dreadful when I was shopping in the supermarket while carrying the diapers," says a 34-year-old working mother whose 2-year-old daughter attends a day-care in Toshima Ward in northern Tokyo. "It really has made life easier now that they can be disposed of at the nursery,"