Something stinks – let’s look at the environmental impact of diapers by Alison Manes
According to disposablediaper.net, 96,090,000 disposable diapers are used every year in the US alone. The third largest single consumer item in landfills, they represent about 4% of solid waste.4 In a household with a child in disposable diapers, disposables comprise of at least 50% of the household waste. The instructions on disposable diaper packages advise depositing all fecal matter in the toilet before discarding the diapers, yet less than one-half of one percent of all waste from single-use diapers goes into an average sewage system.
*The amount of water used to launder cloth diapers at home averages 50 – 70 gallons every two to three days –the same as an adult or child flushing the toilet five/six times daily.
*It is estimated that disposable diapers take 250-500 years to decompose. 1
*Over 300 pounds of wood, 50 pounds of petroleum & 20 pounds of chlorine are used to produce disposable diapers for one baby each year. 1
*Once they are used, roughly 92-98% of the 18 billion feces and urine-filled disposable diapers end up in landfills. 2
As parents are more informed about the true cost of so-called “convenient” disposable diapers, they realize there’s much more than money at stake. While cloth diapers add an extra few loads of laundry to households every week, the benefits to your baby’s health, our environment and your wallet are well worth it. Be part of the solution, right from the very beginning.
For more information on cloth diapering visit the Real Diaper Association at http://www.realdiaperassociation.org.
1 Diapers in the Waste Stream: a review of waste management and public policy issues. Lehrburger, Carl. 1988. Sheffield, MA: self published.
2 Consumer Choice-Diaper Dilemma. Stone, Janis and Sternweis, Laura. Iowa State University-University Extension. ID# 1401. 1994
Alison Manes is the mother of six, and the co-founder of Go Green Sustainable Industries, LLC. Alison won Tucson’s Business Woman of the Year award from the American Business Women’s Association in 2003 for her marketing work. Go Green Sustainable Industries, LLC, manufacturers a new sustainable diapering system using organic and recycled fabrics. Go Green Sustainable Industries, LLC, is committed to manufacturing sustainable products made in the USA. You can view LolliDoo® Diapers at www.lollidoo.com. You can also view Alison’s blog at http://earthymommaodyssey.blogspot.com/.
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