Assignment #4

2006-05-03T15:20:00.000-07:00

Diapers have been part of all of our lives. There is an environmental issue that arises when choosing which diaper to use. Disposable, home laundered cloth, service laundered cloth, and recently available in the U.S., a flushable/compostable diaper. Today, the decision is not given a great deal of thought and the majority of parents use disposable. Disposable diapers were developed in the 1960's when man was preparing to go to the moon. Before that, everyone used cloth - there was no choice. Below, we will focus on and examine the environmental footprints of cloth and disposable diapers.
Today, the main concern of people who choose cloth is that disposables add to the landfill problem in the U.S., taking about 500 years to biodegrade. They feel that by using cloth, they are not adding to the landfill problem and are therefore helping the environment. The environmental issue with cloth diapers is the water and energy it takes to properly wash the diapers, as well as using chemicals that many use to get rid of stains and to keep them white. Let us first establish the two options cloth diaper users have, home laundered and service laundered. If one has the time and proper facilities, home laundering diapers is an option. This option uses more water than service laundered diaper because smaller washes are being done. Also, extremely hot water is needed to sanitize the diapers and this process requires more energy usage. Another concern is the human waste in the water system. The water needs more extensive treatment when bacteria from human feces and urine are mixed with non-toilet water.

An article published in 1992 by the Institute for Lifecycle Assessment, discusses the pros and cons of the different options of diapers. After comparing the three options: home laundered cloth, commercially laundered cloth and disposable, the Institute for Lifecycle Assessment concluded that it depends geographically where you live which diaper best suits your environment. Since the majority of parents chose disposable diapers without a second thought, (90-97 %, numbers vary) it seems that parents are not researching environmental effects diapers.
The main concern with disposable diapers is the addition of waste to the landfills. Look at the picture to the left. This is one day worth of diapers used by a two year old. (The background is made up of parque wood flooring that are one square foot.) Imagine how many two year olds there are in the U.S. alone, each one of those children using disposable diapers is adding roughly this many diapers, per day, to landfills. Although it is said that a disposable diaper will biodegrade in about 500 years, when in a landfill, it could take longer because it is surrounded by other garbage. Human feces in landfills are also an issue. Again, it will take longer to disintegrate surrounded by other trash, some of which may never decompose. Chlorine beach and gels used in most all brands of disposables is another concern. The gels contain polymers that do not break down. These are chemicals that are harmful to the environment, and added to landfills, increasing pollution to the environment.
As a parent of a 23 month-old, I recently had to make the decision of cloth or disposable. I chose cloth without a second thought because I felt it would be better for the environment. Our country produces so much trash in general; my son's diapers did not need to be added. As a gift, my mother gave me two years of diaper service from a company near Harrisburg - the only one in the Philadelphia area! For four months I used the diaper service, surprising many people that one still does exist. Then my son got a bad infection, aided possibly by the cloth diapers (they do not pull moisture away from the skin as well as disposables), and I was advised by multiple doctors to switch to disposable diapers because they are more absorbent (this issue is an entirely different debate: which diaper is better for medical reasons). Due to medical issues, I am adding to the landfills, but in the best way I can.

I use Seventh Generation diapers. This company makes a number of Earth-friendly products, including diapers. The diapers are not bleached with chlorine, which pollutes the earth through dioxins. There are a few other brands of diapers that are Earth-friendly that I found during my research. I mentioned earlier the flushable diaper which seems like a great idea, although possibly a little messy. I do not see the problem of diapers in landfills being resolved anytime soon. Although there may be hope, the city of Santa Clara, California tried recycling diapers through a piolit program. That's right. Just like you would recycle your paper and plastics you recycle the diapers your child dirties. As people become more concerned the future of the earth, maybe this diaper issue will be examined more thoroughly by the population.

Environmental Ethical Dilemma

Assignment #4