Mommy-WOW! Diapers: Recycle this!
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Here’s another major source of non-biodegradable landfill waste: baby diapers. Just think: the plastic diapers we used as babies are probably still buried in some landfill today, and will continue to be there long after we are gone. Factor in that each baby uses about six thousand before toilet training is complete, and that’s a sizable problem.
Sure, the oldschool cloth diapers never completely went out of use, and now not too surprisingly, in this eco-conscious era, they are making a comeback. Check out this primer with further resources.
But for those for who refuse to “go there” with the cloth di-dies, here’s some good news:
For one thing, Whole Foods sells gDiapers, which are flushable and contain no plastic or latex, no chlorine, inks, or dyes, and the company claims that they biodegrade in 150 days! So they can even be thrown in the trash or composted.
On top of that, a revolutionary UK company called Knowaste is recycling disposable diapers—or as they like to call them on that side of the pond, “nappies”—and claims to be recycling up to 84% of each diaper’s components. The plastic components are then converted into plastic wood, roof shingles, and vinyl wood sidings. The fibre and super-absorbent polymers are used for biogas or green energy. (We have no idea what that means, either, but it sounds promising.)
What this means for you, the Earth-Friendly Mother/Father, is that there is absolutely no excuse for buying Pampers anymore—unless you’re planning to send them to Knowaste in England, and if shipping from the States, that’s not eco-friendly. So there’s no excuse.
Comments
For more information about biogas and biodegestion, check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biogas and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaerobic_digestion . It’s a process that’s used a lot in China, India, and Sri Lanka to produce an alternative to fossil fuels out of household/agricultural waste.
our son is six months old and we’ve been using cloth diapers since he was born. they’re great, and the best part is how CHEAP and CONVENIENT they are. we use a delivery service, so no washing. each week we receive clean, pressed diapers delivered to our door--and the dirty ones are hauled away! for 60 diapers a week, we pay about $16.00. we started with 80-90/week, and even then it was under $20/week! i don’t think it’s possible to beat that!
Sandra, thanks for the information!
Katie, thanks for the information on the $, as well as the convenience. I think people often think cloth diapers would be more expensive or overly “messy” and it’s nice to get feedback from people who use this option and can debunk the myth!!