Danielle Jackson

Santa Clarita, Calif. -- In the spring of 2001, disposable diapers will be collected from 500 to 750 Santa Clarita families as part of a pilot recycling project to increase the town's diversion rate to a state-mandated 50 percent.

If successful, the program could lead to a curbside recycling program for disposable diapers, a first in the United States, according to the National Recycling Coalition (NRC).

Procter &Gamble, a major diaper manufacturer, estimates that 12 billion diposable diapers are thrown away each year in the United States.