Cloth vs. Disposable Diapers

Rusty · #1 12-01-2007, 02:25 PM

Which is best regarding the environment?

The debate between which type of diaper is best is not an easy question to answer. The reusable cloth diaper isn’t what it used to be. Some cloth diapers now have double or triple layers and a multiply, fiber-filled strip, making them more absorbent than older styles. Some styles of cloth diapers now come with Velcro strips, eliminating the need for those large safety pins. You can launder them at home or turn the job over to a diaper service.

There are also various types and styles of disposable diapers, ranging from simple plastic covered paper diapers to the newest high-tech, cartoon covered, absorbent gel material filled, elastic legged disposables.

With so many different choices, here are some things to take into consideration in relation to the environment.

The pro-disposable diaper advocates say that the extra water used to wash cloth diapers is just as much of an abuse to the environment as the production and disposal of disposable diapers. But taking into consideration the following estimates you will probably agree that disposable diapers are much more harmful to the environment than cloth diapers.
- It is estimated that roughly 5 million tons of untreated waste and a total of 2 billion tons of urine, feces, plastic and paper are added to landfills annually.
- It takes around 80,000 pounds of plastic and over 200,000 trees a year to manufacture the disposable diapers for American babies alone.
- Although some disposables are said to be biodegradable; in order for these diapers to decompose, they must be exposed to air (oxygen) and sun. Since this is highly unlikely, it can take several hundred years for the decomposition of disposables to take place, with some of the plastic material never decomposing.
The untreated waste placed in landfills by dirty disposable diapers is also a possible danger to contaminating ground water. Pro-disposable advocates say that cleaning cloth diapers uses more energy, and contributes to the load on sanitary sewer systems and potential water pollution. This view really makes no sense if you think about it.
- The amount of water used per week to wash cloth diapers at home is about the same amount consumed by an adult flushing the toilet four or five times daily for a week.
- Also, the greater amount of water and energy being used by diaper service companies to wash large amounts of cloth diapers multiple times; the per diaper impact on energy and water supplies is actually less than home washing.
Finally, when flushing solids from a cloth diaper down the toilet and washing the diapers in a washing machine, the contaminated, dirty water from both toilet and washing machine go into the sewer systems where they are properly treated at wastewater plants. This treated wastewater is much more environmentally friendly than dumping untreated soiled disposable diapers into a landfill.

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After reading the above, would you choose cloth diapers over disposible ones if you had a new baby? Why so or why not?

Green Lantern · #2 12-01-2007, 05:08 PM

After reading the above it is clear that this is written by a pro-cloth writer. There is really no benefits listed on the pro's of the disposable diaper. That makes it harder to really offer an opinion since the article is obvioulys biased.

That said I would still go with disposable diapers. You can't beat the convience.

AllenTaylor · #3 12-02-2007, 02:43 PM

My wife likes cloth diapers. Works for me.

mechanic · #4 12-02-2007, 05:17 PM

Thank God the days of diapers are LONG gone. Now we get to watch our daughter change her kids diapers. When we did have to buy diapers (some adults like them too) for the kids we bought the disposable ones. No time to wash those things all the time.