The Jelly stuff in diapers is SAP and is what is responsible for absorbing the pee and holding the pee away from the skin.
When a diaper is peed in the SAP absorbs the pee and then swells up.
This is why disposable diapers swell up when they are peed in.
The SAP is Super Absorbent Polymer.
The SAP or Super Absorbent Polymer in the diapers is what absorbs the pee or urine in the diaper when the kid pees in the diaper.
Then the SAP holds the pee in the diaper.
The SAP inside of diapers is what absorbs pee in a diaper.
The SAP is short for "Super Absorbent Polymer" which is a chemical that soaks up urine and liquid and swells as it absorbs the pee or liquid.
This is why disposable diapers swell up as they are peed in.
A superabsorbent polymer (SAP) (also called slush powder) is a water-absorbing polymer that can absorb and retain extremely large amounts of a liquid relative to its own mass.
Water-absorbing polymers, which are classified as hydrogels when mixed, absorb aqueous solutions through hydrogen bonding with water molecules.
Unused diapers are not recyclable.
However unused diapers are still okay to use so you can donate the unused diapers or use them later for another baby or kid.
Diapers that are unused can last a long time before they degrade.
If you have unused diapers you can donate them to a church, food pantry, diaper bank etc.
Or give them to a neighbor or someone who has a baby or kid in diapers.
Opened diapers do not expire.
Even sealed diapers do not expire.
Although overtime the diapers may start to degrade after several years it usually takes longer than 10 years for that to happen.
Disposable diapers are made of a plastic as well as SAP.
The SAP is basically good forever as long as it does not get moisture in it or soak up any water.
The plastic can degrade overtime but most often it takes over 10 years for that to happen.
I was given some Pampers Diapers that were sealed and open that were 10 years old and they were just fine.
I saw really no difference in the opened pack of Pampers Diapers and the Sealed pack of pampers diapers.
Diapers are not bad just because they are old and there's nothing wrong with using older disposable diapers.
Diapers really do not expire or get unsafe to use.
Just store the unused diapers in a dry non damp location and they can last for a long time.