Eco-Tip: Nappies and Diapers
by TreeHugger on 12.16.04
I could get into a lot of yellowy brown, smelly stuff here. Which is better - disposable or cloth? Maybe you’ve heard the phrase “Lies, damned lies and statistics.” Over the years data has been trotted out to support both sides of the argument. What doesn’t seem to be in dispute is the sheer volume of the disposables. In broad terms, per day, Australia uses 2.2 million, the UK 9 million and the USA 49 million. (Sorry, ran out of time to find stats for other locales.) That’s a lot of plastic headed to our landfills. And, think for minute, what's inside those bundles? Untreated human excrement. 60 million packages thereof, in just 3 countries – per day! The Women’s Environment Network, who should know a heap more about this than me, suggest that ...
... home-washing cloth diapers has only 53% of the ecological footprint of disposables. But of greater interest to us, as advocates of Product Service Systems (PSS), is that a nappy laundry service has a mere 37% of that footprint. In the middle of the debate are biodegradable nappies. These are formed with plant based plastics and under the right conditions will compost. However landfills just don’t offer the right conditions. They are so full of mixed waste, that no self-respecting micro-organism would be seen near one. (Once read about newspapers that were extracted from a New York landfill, during an archelogical dig. Been there over 25 years and were still legible!). If you have to use disposables, then selecting a truly biodegradable option is preferable, but don’t be disillusioned into thinking they will somehow go on to make a rich loamy soil. Alas not. [by WM]
Greenfibres are offering a Nappy Starter Pack, consisting of organic cotton nappies and liners, with organic wool overpants and ecopaper liners. £105.00 for the pack of 20.
Diaperaps have some fascinating figures on the topic and they offer a reusable diaper system.
Naty is a Swedish based, 70% biodegradable diaper, with an outer of GM free corn starch. (See our recent related post on Ingeo)
Senevens, a 100% biodegradable nappy, with only 10% wood pulp compared to the usual 60%.
Diaper Hyena has much more information, including the health of the baby, which we have not even touched on.
Good day
An interesting article with valid points but regretably not very parent friendly !!
A very proud father of a little girl who thankfully has reached the age where nappies disposable or not are no longer needed.
I was just looking on the Gaiam website and they apparently have some diapers where the seperately sold diaper cover is cotton and the liners are flushable. Yay!
I've been using cloth diapers for nearly 2 1/2 years, 8 months of which have been with 0 use of disposables on my youngest. Why the first poster said it's not parent friendly I don't understand. Cloth diapers have come a long way from prefolds, pins and rubber pants. The options are nearly endless and there are so many people out there who make fantastic diapering items right in their own homes.
There are kinds that don't require a cover called All-in-One (AIOs) and ones that snap down to fit newborns and when unsnapped can fit a toddler (One Size). And the fabrics that can be used! My little girl has velour diapers and wipes that are so soft. The only down side is that cloth diapering can actually become addictive and end up being less economically sound. ;)
The heath benefits alone should be more than enough to make people want to switch. Everyone wants what is best for their child and to be able to keep chemicals such as dioxin away from the sensitive baby skin if wonderful. And in the process not only are you giving your child a better start at life but you're also helping to improve the world they will live in when they are adults. I suppose to me being a "trehugging hippy" (as jokingly called by my entire family) I see giving our children a healthy cleaner future more important than my convenience.
If you're interested in cloth diapering there are fantastic resources out there just a Google away. Or visit www.hyenacart.com to see what sort of handmade goodies there are to be had in the diapering world (and beyond). :)