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Envirobaby CLoth Diapering and Environmental Parenting Blog
Is it better to buy diapers before or after the baby is born?
Pregnant moms love to buy things. Most expectant parents have a nursery ready, a car seat in the car, and clothes washed and folded weeks before the due date. Because of this, I am always a little surprised when potential customers tell me friends or family have advised them to wait until after the baby is born to buy diapers.
These are some common concerns parents have about buying diapers too soon and what you can do about it:
What if my baby is too small or too big to fit into the newborn diapers I buy?
Just like clothes, you will want your diapers washed and ready when baby arrives. And just like clothes, it is possible that the average newborn size may be too big or too small for your baby. If you have no indication of how big or small your baby will be, a good choice may be a mini one size diapers. Most mini one size diapers fit newborns from about 4-15 lbs, so no guesswork is involved.
I have heard that different diapers are better suited for babies depending on their shape. How will I know what diaper will be best for my baby?
Although this is definitely true, it is important to remember that a newborn grows very fast and must be changed about 12 times a day! Because of this, considering the price or adjustability of a diaper is probably more important than the baby's shape. A common problem related to a newborn's shape is very skinny legs that allow leaking. Making sure to use a diaper or cover with elastic around the legs can help prevent this.
If I am really going to change 12 diapers a day, wouldn't it be better to use disposables for the first few weeks and switch to cloth later?
Disposable diapers are expensive, and the savings begins the minute you begin using cloth, even if you are changing diapers several times a day. To stretch your savings further, use a one size or mini one size diaper so that you can keep your newborn diapers months or even years. If you prefer a sized diaper for a better fit, skip the fancy stuff for the first few weeks and stick to inexpensive prefolds or fitteds.
Another way to make cloth diapering affordable is to buy in smaller amounts during your pregnancy. Many families who have a hard time buying 24 diapers right after the baby is born find it much easier to buy 6 diapers every few weeks during pregnancy.
Choosing a Cloth Diapering System
cloth diapers, cloth diaper systems, choosing cloth diapers<< MORE >>
Caring for Happy Heiny Diapers
Store wet and dirty diapers in a dry pail. Older babies' solid waste can be removed by gently shaking the diaper over a toilet. The fleece will release solids easily – there is no need to rinse them before washing.
Preparing to launder diapers
Happy Heinys are made with foldover laundry tabs but did you know there’s another method to preparing your diapers for laundering? Using this method or the foldover tabs will help keep our diapers in great shape!
Washing instructions for pocket diapers and trainers:
- Remove inserts by shaking out of pocket
- Secure tabs using our twist method for one size diapers.
- Prewash in cold to remove any waste to to help prevent staining.
- Wash on hot* (100F) using the FULL recommended amount of detergent**
- Do a final extra rinse of the diapers to insure all detergent has been removed
- Tumble dry diapers and inserts
DO NOT: Use bleach. Bleach is very caustic and should only be used as a last resort on your diapers with a waterproof lining. You should never ever bleach your diapers once a month and if you are needing to do so then you are using the wrong type of detergent.
DO NOT: Strip your diapers unless you need to. If you are following washing instructions then this is not needed. It will only decrease the life of your diapers.
DO NOT: Go more than 3 days in between washing. Two days is much better, this will decrease any lingering stink.
DO NOT: Use any of the detergents on the DO NOT USE detergent page.
*Washing your diapers in temperatures over 120F will decrease the life of the elastics and hook and loop of your diapers. The use of the Sanitary Cycle or Very Hot water does void all warranties due to the breakdown this will cause.
**Using less then the recommended amount of detergent can lead to unclean diapers and ammonia stink.
Caring for Hemp Diapers
Your hemp product has been professionally washed and dried once. It will need up to 8 more washings and dries before it is fully absorbent. The first few times you wash hemp products you should NOT wash them with fleece products. Hemp has natural oils in it and the oils can coat your fleece. After your hemp has been fully primed you may wash it with all of your diapering products.
Caring for Heiny Huggers
Wash new diapers before use. You may notice that they produce a bit of lint in the beginning, this is normal for Sherpa.
- Cold rinse
- Warm-hot wash
- Same detergents as the HH
- No chlorine, no bleach, no fabric softners.
- May be dried on high heat.
Occasionally you may notice that your Sherpa diapers are not as soft after a few months of use as they were when new. All you need to do is rinse the diapers a few times in the washer without detergent. Add vinegar to the rinse cycle. This will help to restore the natural softness to the Sherpa.
How can I get my hook & loop tabs to fasten as firmly as they used to?
Easy! By washing your diaper and then drying it in the dryer, the heat will cause the hook & loop to recontract and fasten more firmly again.
If by chance this does not work you can always send the diaper into us and we can add snaps to the hook & loop for you for a stronger hold.
Stripping Diapers
Build up refers to residue left by detergents, fabric softeners, and other substances used to clean diapers. In rare instances, baking soda will react with certain minerals in water and also cause build up. If you notice a decrease in the absorbency of your diapers, build up may be the culprit.
Stripping is the process of removing residue from your diapers.
Stripping the diapers can rapidly increase the wear of your diapers. We do NOT recommend that you perform a stripping unless you are certain that your issues are related to repelling. You will know that you are having repelling issues if the diaper leaks excessively and when checked the diaper insert is near dry or completely dry. If the insert is wet then the issue is not due to repelling and the baby will most likely need to be changed more frequently or an additional insert should be added.
To strip diapers:
- Hand wash your diaper with regular dish soap to remove any oils.
- Put a small amount of dish soap on the fleece layer.
- Rub vigorously or use a medium bristle scrubbing brush to scrub the fleece.
- Turn the diaper inside out and repeat.
- Rinse thoroughly until the water runs clear.
You may use this method at any time you notice repelling or as a preventative measure once a week. If you are still having problems, try these special cleaning agents to strip your diapers:
- 2 scoops of Oxyclean* in a very hot wash
- 1 ball of RLR (found at Wal-Mart in the laundry aisle hanging on a clip) in a hot wash
*We have had mixed reviews regarding the use of oxyclean. Due to this we do NOT recommend using this on a regular basis as it may have a negative affect on the water-proof layer of the diaper. We do however know that very occasional use has been shown not to have a negative effect and will help to remove any oily coating when used in small amounts.
**Use of Oxyclean on a regular basis and stripping on a regular basis can void the warranty.
Envirobaby will be be a the LLL World Breastfeeding Week Family Picnic
I'm very excited to announce that Envirobaby will have a booth at the LLL World Breastfeeding Week Family Picnic August 1 at Alta Laguna Park in Laguna Beach.
The address is 3250 Alta Laguna Parkway, Laguna Beach, CA 92651. Alta Laguna Park in Laguna Beach (PCH to Laguna Ave, which turns into Park and you take Park to the top of the world and turn Left on Alta Laguna, the park is on the right). Bring your sunscreen, sun umbrella, and blankets or chairs
I will have a variety of cloth diapers and accessories for sale as well as an opportunity to meet local customers and cloth diapering parents in the community. I will have special prices on all my items for this event ONLY!
Diapers or not, this will be a fun event for the entire family. There will be booths with items from local businesses, crafts, activities, and food. There will also be several auctions and a raffle including diapers, baby carriers, legal services, hotel stays, restaurant credits, professional photography packages, and yoga classes. The first 100 families will also receive a gift bag full of valuable prizes.
Tamales for Vegan, Vegetarians, and Meat Eaters
I've always loved tamales, but it can be very difficult to find them without meat. Over the weekend, Erik and I made a huge batch of really yummy tamales. I've always heard tamales are really difficult to make. We found they are time consuming, but they are really easy.
1. Soak the corn husks. I found a 1 lb bag of corn husks at my local Hispanic market for about $3. I have seen these in the regular grocery stores before, but could not find them on Saturday. The husks need to be soaked. One website I found recommended 30 minutes, another said 2 hours. Either way seems to work fine as long as the husks are pliable.
2. Mix the masa. I found masa at my local grocery store in the baking isle near the flour and sugar. I used 3 cups of masa and added vegetable broth, oil, chili powder, salt, pepper, and cumin. If you are making meat tamales, cook the meat first and use the cooking water in place of vegetable broth. I added enough broth and oil to make the masa the consistency of peanut butter.
3. Shake out the wet corn husks and spread the masa mixture onto each. To do this, lay the husk on the counter or work surface with the triangular point facing away from you. Spread the masa, but leave the 1/3 of the husk and right 1/3 of the husk empty. This way, you will have room to roll it.
4. Add a tablespoon of filling to each tamales. Traditional tamales are made with meat. I put shredded monterey jack cheese and canned green chilies in mine. A yummy vegan option would be a sauteed mixture of black beans, corn, onions, and zucchini.
5. Roll the tamales from left to right and then fold over the flap of corn husk at the bottom.
6. Steam the tamales. I received a deep fryer for my wedding. We do not deep fry foods, so it has been sitting in the pantry unused. Upon investigation, we discovered it can also be used as a steamer. Place the tamales tightly into the steam basket, open side up. Steam for 1 hour and periodically add more water.
That's it! A large batch can be enough for the whole family to each lunch all week. my kids really enjoyed helping, too. My two year old stirred and seasoned the masa and my seven year old was able to add the filling and roll them.
Washing Cloth Diapers
1. Do NOT use fabric softeners or bleach when you wash your cloth diapers. Also, do not use "free and clear" or baby detergents. These chemical can irrtate your baby's skin. Also, the build-up caused by fabric softeners is often what causes diapers to smell bad or leak.
2. DO NOT Wash your diaper items with non-diaper items.
3. DO wash all your diapering items before use. Hemp items and prefold diapers must be washed several times before use. Do not wash hemp items with other diapering items for the first 4-10 times you wash. Hemp contains natural oils that can coat fleece and other materials. Your diapers will become more absorbat after each wash.
4. DO NOT use the full reccomended amount of detergent when washing diapers. many people fill the cap or scoop woth detergent for every load, You only need 1/3-1/2 of the detergent for a clean load of diapers. If you think you may be using too much detergent, take a peek during the rinse cycle. If you see suds in the wash, rinse again.
5. DO wash your diapers without detergent if you have a smell or leakage problem. Check the rinse cycle to make sure no suds are in the machine. If the problem persists, wash with 1/2 cup vinegar.
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Traveling With Cloth
The cloth diaper myth that irks me the most is that cloth diapering is inconvenient. Many new parents are afraid that changing a cloth diaper on the go will be messy and difficult, many plan to use disposables when out of the house. Once you have a system down, it is no more difficult than using disposables. I promise.
For running around town, your diaper bag will look about the same as a parent who uses disposables. You will need a few diapers, some wipes, and a wet bag. If you make your wet wipes ahead of time and store them in a wipe container, this is no different than using disposable wipes. An alternative is to keep dry wipes and a spray bottle of wipe solution or water. Either way, it is fast and easy. If you normally use prefolds or fitted diapers, you may find having a small stash of pockets or AIOs will make outings easier.
When my son was 7 months old, we planned our first vacation since using cloth. I was determined to continue cloth diapering, but I wasn't sure how I would wash the diapers since we would be staying in a cabin with no coin laundry for 18 miles. I bought a small hand-operated portable washing machine online for about $40. I found that my diapers and inserts dried faster than ever if I placed them on the dashboard of our car. During another vacation, I successfully used a coin operated washer and dryer. I stored all our dirty and wet diaper in a diaper pain liner and had no problems. When I travel by car I simply bring my small diaper pail with me.
If you are traveling without a car, you can pack a suitcase with your diapers and pail liner. Keep a few diapers, wet wipes, and a wet bag with you for the journey.
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For running around town, your diaper bag will look about the same as a parent who uses disposables. You will need a few diapers, some wipes, and a wet bag. If you make your wet wipes ahead of time and store them in a wipe container, this is no different than using disposable wipes. An alternative is to keep dry wipes and a spray bottle of wipe solution or water. Either way, it is fast and easy. If you normally use prefolds or fitted diapers, you may find having a small stash of pockets or AIOs will make outings easier.
When my son was 7 months old, we planned our first vacation since using cloth. I was determined to continue cloth diapering, but I wasn't sure how I would wash the diapers since we would be staying in a cabin with no coin laundry for 18 miles. I bought a small hand-operated portable washing machine online for about $40. I found that my diapers and inserts dried faster than ever if I placed them on the dashboard of our car. During another vacation, I successfully used a coin operated washer and dryer. I stored all our dirty and wet diaper in a diaper pain liner and had no problems. When I travel by car I simply bring my small diaper pail with me.
If you are traveling without a car, you can pack a suitcase with your diapers and pail liner. Keep a few diapers, wet wipes, and a wet bag with you for the journey.
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Top 10 Environmental Reasons to Cloth Diaper
1. Disposable diapers use 2x as much water as cotton diapers.
2. Disposable diapers use 3x as much energy as cotton diapers.
3. Disposable diapers generate 60x more solid waste than cotton diapers.
4. Disposable diapers use 20x as much raw materials as cotton diapers
5. 1 billion trees per year are destroyed to make disposable diapers---approximately 4.5 for each baby who uses them
6. It takes between 200-500 years for a disposable diaper to decompose.
7. Disposable diapers are the third largest single consumer item in landfills, and represent 30% of non-biodegradable waste
8. 1 ton of garbage is created for each baby who uses disposable diapers
9. 1 cup of crude oil is used for the plastic in 1 disposable diaper
10. 18 billion disposalbe diapers are used in the U.S. each year. Enough to stretch to the moon and back 9 times
The sources for the facts listed above are the following: Sierra Club, Californians Against Waste, Rhode Island Solid Waste Management Agency, Lehrberguer Report on the Impact of Diapers on the Environment, Greenpeace, Environmental Defense Fund, Center for Policy Alternatives
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2. Disposable diapers use 3x as much energy as cotton diapers.
3. Disposable diapers generate 60x more solid waste than cotton diapers.
4. Disposable diapers use 20x as much raw materials as cotton diapers
5. 1 billion trees per year are destroyed to make disposable diapers---approximately 4.5 for each baby who uses them
6. It takes between 200-500 years for a disposable diaper to decompose.
7. Disposable diapers are the third largest single consumer item in landfills, and represent 30% of non-biodegradable waste
8. 1 ton of garbage is created for each baby who uses disposable diapers
9. 1 cup of crude oil is used for the plastic in 1 disposable diaper
10. 18 billion disposalbe diapers are used in the U.S. each year. Enough to stretch to the moon and back 9 times
The sources for the facts listed above are the following: Sierra Club, Californians Against Waste, Rhode Island Solid Waste Management Agency, Lehrberguer Report on the Impact of Diapers on the Environment, Greenpeace, Environmental Defense Fund, Center for Policy Alternatives
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Th Disposable Diaper Myth
THE DISPOSABLE DIAPER MYTH
OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND
An entire generation is growing up believing that the term "disposable diaper" is redundant: There's only one thing you put on babies' bottoms. They're plastic, you get them in huge bags and boxes at the grocery store or the convenience store, and you fold them up; and toss them in the trash when they're dirty. The product name itself is a misnomer, testament to the power of Madison Avenue and to our own Freudian neuroses surrounding our bodies and our wastes. For Huggies and Pampers and Luvs are not "disposable" at all. We throw about 18 billion of them away each year into trash cans and bags, believing they've gone to some magic place where they will safely disappear. The truth is, most of the plastic-lined "disposables" end up in landfills. There they sit, tightly wrapped bundles of urine and feces that partially and slowly decompose only over many decades. What started out as a marketer's dream of drier, happier, more comfortable babies has become a solid-waste nightmare of squandered material resources, skyrocketing economics, and a growing health hazard, set against the backdrop of dwindling landfill capacity in a country driven by consumption.
The mythology surrounding contemporary diapering is a direct descendant of the modern-day waste ethic, whose roots are generally seen as economic. With profits based on sales, manufacturers have a built-in incentive to foster planned obsolescence. And so it is with diapers. The pure and honorable cotton diaper represents approximately 10 percent of the U.S. diaper market--even though it has a viable life of 80-100 uses. Capturing the other 90 percent of market share is, of course, the single-use, throw-away diaper.
Hidden Costs, Hidden Hazards
The sheer number of diapers being bought, used, and disposed of in our trash are mind-boggling. Industry statistics indicate that as many as 18 billion disposable diapers will be used in the U.S. this year (1988) --the end products of a market valued at more than $3 billion. Chalk up more than half of that to Proctor & Gamble, maker of Pampers and Luvs; 30% to Kimberly-Clark's Huggies; and the rest to various generic or "house" brands. It?s easy to see how the numbers add up. In the midst of a baby boomers' baby boom, 98 percent of all households using diapers use some disposables. And, as many parents know, a child can run through 8,000 to 10,000 diapers before becoming fully toilet trained.
The forerunner to today's single-use diaper dates back to materials-scarce Sweden after World War II, where a two-piece diaper with a throw-away paper liner was designed. Not until decades later did U.S. industry introduce a single-use diaper--this, too, with an inner absorbent liner designed to be torn out and flushed down the toilet. Subsequent U.S. products combined the outer plastic portion and inner absorbent liner in a design that is at the root of many of today's diaper-disposal headaches.
Today's new and improved single-use diaper is made of an outer layer of waterproof polyethylene plastic. Sandwiched between the plastic and a water-repellent liner is a thick layer of an absorbent, cotton-like material made from wood pulp. A super-absorbent polymer that turns to gel when the baby urinates is embedded into the wood pulp of most U.S. single-use diapers.
Once they are used, roughly 90 percent to 95 percent of the 18 billion feces-and urine-filled disposable diapers enter the household trash stream and ultimately end up in landfills, creating an immediate public health hazard. Leachate containing viruses from human feces (including live vaccines from routine childhood immunizations) can leak into the Earth and pollute underground water supplies. In addition to the potential of groundwater contamination, air-borne viruses carried by flies and other insects contribute to an unhealthy and unsanitary situation. These viruses could include Hepatitis A, Norwalk and Rota Virus.
Although modern, single-use diaper packaging recommends rinsing feces in the toilet, this is impractical and is in fact discouraged by the one-piece diaper design, which does not allow the diaper to be torn apart easily. In addition, rinsing the tremendously absorptive, single-use diaper in the toilet produces a very full, very heavy, very wet diaper. For these and other reasons, it is doubtful that any more than 10 percent of parents actually rinse out single-use diapers as a matter of course.
This unsanitary practice of commingling untreated sewage and solid waste in landfills--of dumping raw sewage directly into the environment--should raise eyebrows among more than those whose job it is to oversee the public health.
Material waste is yet another consequence of reliance on single-use diapers. From the time a single-use diaper is put on a baby, it may have a useful life of a few hours at most. Since there is no other application of the single-use diaper, use of this product in the U.S. alone wastes nearly 100,000 tons of plastic and 800,000 tons of pulp derived from trees.
Add to these material losses the cost of collection and disposal. With the average U.S. landfill tipping fee about $27 per ton of material (some landfills are over $100 per ton), and the average transportation cost to landfills about $48 per ton, we pay an average of $75 per ton or $350 million annually in the U.S. to get rid of single-use diapers! For every consumer dollar spent on so-called disposable diapers, an additional, hidden cost of $0.10 on average goes to pay for disposal.
Few quantitative studies are available that provide numbers on the amount of diapers and fecal matter that end up in landfills. However, assuming that approximately 18 billion diapers are sold year each, and that over 90 percent of these end up at landfills, this translates into more than 4,275,000 tons of disposable diapers trucked to landfills each year. Add the remaining 10 percent that end up in resource recovery plants for a total of 4,500,000 tons of single-use diapers thrown away this year.
To obtain the percentage of U.S. solid waste occupied by disposable diapers, begin with the assumption that the average American generates 1,000 pounds of solid waste each year. This is equivalent to 112 million tons of waste annually from households and some commercial sources, not including tires and yard waste. Assuming that the average used diaper weighs one-half pound when thrown away (authors' personal conclusion), 4 percent of the total U.S. household solid waste stream is composed of single-use diapers.
Since each community's solid waste stream differs, extrapolating to your own community may prove difficult; a scientific sampling could provide exact information. Differences in location, socioeconomic make-up, seasonal fluctuations, and other factors will yield diverse variations from one community to the next. It should be noted, too, that basing waste composition on weight as opposed to volume may also prove misleading. However, since tipping fees are most frequently calculated by weight, this has become a generally accepted practice.
The above notwithstanding, the estimate that disposable diapers make up 4 percent of household solid waste, and 3 percent of the municipal solid waste stream, is sure to catch most solid waste managers by surprise.
Burn 'Em, Flush 'Em, Compost 'Em
Although most single-use diapers end up in landfills, a growing trend in the waste management industry, particularly in the heavily populated northeastern U.S., is the construction of waste-to-energy plants. These plants burn solid waste and produce electricity (mass-incinerators) or separate out a prepared fuel (RDF--refuse derived fuel). About 75 plants currently handle 7 percent of the total U.S. solid waste flow; another 60-plus are under construction. Some industry analysts predict that this will grow to 40 percent by the end of the century, although these estimates are considered optimistic by the author.
The development of mass-burn plants has been the source of heated discussion between environmentalists, who favor recycling and reusing materials, and proponents of waste-to-energy plants. In the case of single-use diapers, however, burning in resource plants appears to pose less of a societal problem than does dumping in landfills. Energy is obtained from the combustion, and the high temperatures destroy any dangerous viruses or bacteria. The diapers are reduced to ash (about 6 percent of the original weight becomes ash) which is then landfilled.
Despite reducing the volume and eliminating the disease potential of single-use diapers, burning any waste will contribute to air pollution. Additionally, the value of the material used as fuel in mass incinerators (4-5 cents per pound) is one-eight the value of the materials if reused. As the trend towards building mass-incinerators and RDF facilities grows, so grows the volume of disposable diapers that end up as electricity, fumes, waste heat and ash. Although burning disposable diapers in mass-incineration may destroy dangerous pathogens, this solution is hardly optimum.
A growing emphasis is being placed on recycling solid waste. States such as New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut have targeted 25-percent recycling goals. New Jersey, California and Oregon already have aggressive recycling programs in place. As the recycling of household glass, cans, plastic and newspapers increase, the percentage of single-use diapers in the solid waste stream will also increase. For example, if single-use diapers make up 3 percent of the municipal solid waste stream today, that percentage will rise to 4 percent once a city or state achieves a recycling goal of 25 percent of solid waste.
The fact is, single-use diapers are specifically designed to be thrown away. Recycling or reusing them is problematic if not impossible, because of the difficulty in separating the product's plastic materials from the cellulose (mostly wood pulp).
In another solid waste management scenario, today's single-use diapers could be recycled in an environmentally sound manner by municipal composting. Commercial composting facilities, which have the potential to mix sewage sludge and municipal solid waste (co-composting), operate at high enough temperatures to kill dangerous viruses. The pulp, paper and human feces from diapers biodegrade into compost, while most of the plastic is screened out of the finish material. This plastic may then either be landfilled or used as a fuel for burning in an RDF plant. This process would be enhanced by using biodegradable plastics.
Although composting municipal solid waste is widely practiced in Europe--where over 200 plants are now in operation--it is only recently gaining acceptance in the U.S. Here, construction of large mass-incinerators continues to be the most popular waste disposal technology. Composting of municipal solid waste and sewage sludge is expected to become increasingly popular in the U.S., as it represents a less capital intensive, simpler and more ecological approach to solid waste management. However, unless or until there is a drastic change in public policy or the direction of waste management technology in the conceivable future, most disposable diapers will be landfilled or burned.
The most logical and environmental approach to disposal of a single-use product is flushing. The sewage waste stream is already equipped to handle urine, feces, and specific types of paper. Sludge recovered from sewage is suitable for recycling through land treatment, assuming that heavy metals from industry have not entered the sewage waste stream. Although present-day single-use diapers are not suitable for flushing down toilets, a new materials configuration could provide a single-use diaper liner that flushes safely. This would require that parents use a traditional nylon, cotton or wool diaper cover in conjunction with single-use diapers.
Although nearly 100 percent of single-use diapers could theoretically be eliminated from landfill disposal by a flushable product, diaper manufacturers have ignored the solid waste problems created by single-use diapers. They have instead focused on integrating super-absorbents (slurpers) into the diaper and adding more materials. Interestingly, the capabilities of some of these super absorbing materials can just as easily enhance the prospects for a flushable diaper option, according to the author's patent review and preliminary field testing. The major barrier to reintroducing a flushable diaper appears not to be plugged-up sewer lines, but a reduction in profits for manufacturers who would use fewer materials in each diaper.
Growing Options for Conscious Diapering In an ironic shift, cotton diapers have now become the major "alternative" to single-use diapers. Even though most households with infants have a supply of cloth diapers on hand for clean-up and keeping shoulders clean, cotton diapers continue to lose market share to single-use diapers.
Even though diaper services serve less than 2 percent of families with children under three (author's estimate), the industry is now beginning to experience a turn-around in business (note: this "turn around ended in 1991, and the diaper service industry is now smaller than when this article was written in 1988). The weekly diaper service picks up soiled, unrinsed diapers, professionally launders them, and delivers clean diapers to the home. Unfortunately, they are often not available in rural or small-town areas. Once considered an elitist luxury for an advantaged few, diaper services can today be a necessary overhead item for dual-career couples with small children.
At anywhere from $9-$12 per week (1988), diaper services still make more economic sense when compared to the $15 that parents spend on single-use diapers--especially when the hidden costs of disposal are factored in. The following analysis does not take into account the value of labor for home washing, which, the author knows from personal experience, can be considerable.
In addition to the economic advantages cotton diapers have over single-use diapers, they are reused from 80 to 100 times each. Plus, the environmental and economic benefits of keeping feces-and urine-filled diapers out of the solid waste stream are substantial, and should not be overlooked by policymakers seeking ways to reduce the growing solid waste burden.
Although single-use diaper manufacturers have succeeded in convincing the public that diaper rashes are a normal, expected part of early childhood, independent tests and the author's own evaluation have demonstrated that rashes are far less frequent with cotton diapers. Although certainly more ecological than single-use diapers, cotton diapers are not perfect either; the larger perspective is marred by the significant laundering requirements of large quantities of water, energy and detergents. As well, home laundering is the least sanitary diapering option when compared to single-use diapers or professional diaper services.
Outright limitations on certain products are not out of the question, as highlighted in a recent solid waste survey of New Hampshire municipal officials. In that survey, 68 percent of respondents indicated they would favor legislative limits or bans on some plastic products. Twenty-one states and many European countries have already introduced legislation to limit or ban plastic packaging waste.
Alternative diapering approaches have not been taken seriously because few recognize the health and solid waste problems created by single-use diapers going to landfills. It also has proven difficult to confront the waste ethic successfully in the U.S., when such a disproportionate value is placed on "convenience" by consumers and marketers. Few environmentalists, cotton diaper services or health proponents can be heard above the public relations and marketing clout exercised by a Proctor & Gamble or Kimberley-Clark.
But, as difficult as it is, we must confront the waste ethic. We have now reached the point where it has become unacceptable to continue to landfill over 16 billion diapers each year. The decreasing availability of landfill space and the increasing and hidden costs of single-use diapers are likely to provide the societal pressure to change diapering modes (note: not so far!).
There are alternatives to sending nearly 10,000 plastic-and-pulp diapers per child to the landfill. Cotton diapers, whether washed at home or by a diaper service, admittedly may require lifestyle and diapering mode changes by many parents and caregivers. Conscious diapering, like conscious living, requires parents and others to think about what they are putting on their children's bodies and where it will ultimately go.
Economic policy should provide incentives to diaper services, which create local jobs as well as diminish the need to landfill single-use diapers. Relying on the same "carrot" approach, incentives for diaper manufacturers to develop a flushable option certainly are more desirable than a ban on single-use diapers from landfills. Incentives to daycare facilities, hospitals and institutions to switch to reusable diapers, gowns and bedding would complement the proven economic advantages of reuse over single-use products. And finally, eliminating landfills as our primary mode of "disposal" and replacing them with resource conservation, recycling and composting, will require a shift in the waste management industry. There are alternatives to disposable products, but they require conscious--often demanding--choices by individuals, industry and government.
The single-use diaper has gotten a free ride for too long. It is time that parents, health care providers, solid waste managers and public policy makers begin to consider seriously the problems caused by, and the alternatives to, the single-use diaper. It's time for a change!
Carl Lehrburger, Whole Earth Review, Fall, 1988
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OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND
The following article appeared in the Fall, 1988 edition of The Whole Earth Review.
An entire generation is growing up believing that the term "disposable diaper" is redundant: There's only one thing you put on babies' bottoms. They're plastic, you get them in huge bags and boxes at the grocery store or the convenience store, and you fold them up; and toss them in the trash when they're dirty. The product name itself is a misnomer, testament to the power of Madison Avenue and to our own Freudian neuroses surrounding our bodies and our wastes. For Huggies and Pampers and Luvs are not "disposable" at all. We throw about 18 billion of them away each year into trash cans and bags, believing they've gone to some magic place where they will safely disappear. The truth is, most of the plastic-lined "disposables" end up in landfills. There they sit, tightly wrapped bundles of urine and feces that partially and slowly decompose only over many decades. What started out as a marketer's dream of drier, happier, more comfortable babies has become a solid-waste nightmare of squandered material resources, skyrocketing economics, and a growing health hazard, set against the backdrop of dwindling landfill capacity in a country driven by consumption.
The mythology surrounding contemporary diapering is a direct descendant of the modern-day waste ethic, whose roots are generally seen as economic. With profits based on sales, manufacturers have a built-in incentive to foster planned obsolescence. And so it is with diapers. The pure and honorable cotton diaper represents approximately 10 percent of the U.S. diaper market--even though it has a viable life of 80-100 uses. Capturing the other 90 percent of market share is, of course, the single-use, throw-away diaper.
Hidden Costs, Hidden Hazards
The sheer number of diapers being bought, used, and disposed of in our trash are mind-boggling. Industry statistics indicate that as many as 18 billion disposable diapers will be used in the U.S. this year (1988) --the end products of a market valued at more than $3 billion. Chalk up more than half of that to Proctor & Gamble, maker of Pampers and Luvs; 30% to Kimberly-Clark's Huggies; and the rest to various generic or "house" brands. It?s easy to see how the numbers add up. In the midst of a baby boomers' baby boom, 98 percent of all households using diapers use some disposables. And, as many parents know, a child can run through 8,000 to 10,000 diapers before becoming fully toilet trained.
The forerunner to today's single-use diaper dates back to materials-scarce Sweden after World War II, where a two-piece diaper with a throw-away paper liner was designed. Not until decades later did U.S. industry introduce a single-use diaper--this, too, with an inner absorbent liner designed to be torn out and flushed down the toilet. Subsequent U.S. products combined the outer plastic portion and inner absorbent liner in a design that is at the root of many of today's diaper-disposal headaches.
Today's new and improved single-use diaper is made of an outer layer of waterproof polyethylene plastic. Sandwiched between the plastic and a water-repellent liner is a thick layer of an absorbent, cotton-like material made from wood pulp. A super-absorbent polymer that turns to gel when the baby urinates is embedded into the wood pulp of most U.S. single-use diapers.
Once they are used, roughly 90 percent to 95 percent of the 18 billion feces-and urine-filled disposable diapers enter the household trash stream and ultimately end up in landfills, creating an immediate public health hazard. Leachate containing viruses from human feces (including live vaccines from routine childhood immunizations) can leak into the Earth and pollute underground water supplies. In addition to the potential of groundwater contamination, air-borne viruses carried by flies and other insects contribute to an unhealthy and unsanitary situation. These viruses could include Hepatitis A, Norwalk and Rota Virus.
Although modern, single-use diaper packaging recommends rinsing feces in the toilet, this is impractical and is in fact discouraged by the one-piece diaper design, which does not allow the diaper to be torn apart easily. In addition, rinsing the tremendously absorptive, single-use diaper in the toilet produces a very full, very heavy, very wet diaper. For these and other reasons, it is doubtful that any more than 10 percent of parents actually rinse out single-use diapers as a matter of course.
This unsanitary practice of commingling untreated sewage and solid waste in landfills--of dumping raw sewage directly into the environment--should raise eyebrows among more than those whose job it is to oversee the public health.
Material waste is yet another consequence of reliance on single-use diapers. From the time a single-use diaper is put on a baby, it may have a useful life of a few hours at most. Since there is no other application of the single-use diaper, use of this product in the U.S. alone wastes nearly 100,000 tons of plastic and 800,000 tons of pulp derived from trees.
Add to these material losses the cost of collection and disposal. With the average U.S. landfill tipping fee about $27 per ton of material (some landfills are over $100 per ton), and the average transportation cost to landfills about $48 per ton, we pay an average of $75 per ton or $350 million annually in the U.S. to get rid of single-use diapers! For every consumer dollar spent on so-called disposable diapers, an additional, hidden cost of $0.10 on average goes to pay for disposal.
Few quantitative studies are available that provide numbers on the amount of diapers and fecal matter that end up in landfills. However, assuming that approximately 18 billion diapers are sold year each, and that over 90 percent of these end up at landfills, this translates into more than 4,275,000 tons of disposable diapers trucked to landfills each year. Add the remaining 10 percent that end up in resource recovery plants for a total of 4,500,000 tons of single-use diapers thrown away this year.
To obtain the percentage of U.S. solid waste occupied by disposable diapers, begin with the assumption that the average American generates 1,000 pounds of solid waste each year. This is equivalent to 112 million tons of waste annually from households and some commercial sources, not including tires and yard waste. Assuming that the average used diaper weighs one-half pound when thrown away (authors' personal conclusion), 4 percent of the total U.S. household solid waste stream is composed of single-use diapers.
Since each community's solid waste stream differs, extrapolating to your own community may prove difficult; a scientific sampling could provide exact information. Differences in location, socioeconomic make-up, seasonal fluctuations, and other factors will yield diverse variations from one community to the next. It should be noted, too, that basing waste composition on weight as opposed to volume may also prove misleading. However, since tipping fees are most frequently calculated by weight, this has become a generally accepted practice.
The above notwithstanding, the estimate that disposable diapers make up 4 percent of household solid waste, and 3 percent of the municipal solid waste stream, is sure to catch most solid waste managers by surprise.
Burn 'Em, Flush 'Em, Compost 'Em
Although most single-use diapers end up in landfills, a growing trend in the waste management industry, particularly in the heavily populated northeastern U.S., is the construction of waste-to-energy plants. These plants burn solid waste and produce electricity (mass-incinerators) or separate out a prepared fuel (RDF--refuse derived fuel). About 75 plants currently handle 7 percent of the total U.S. solid waste flow; another 60-plus are under construction. Some industry analysts predict that this will grow to 40 percent by the end of the century, although these estimates are considered optimistic by the author.
The development of mass-burn plants has been the source of heated discussion between environmentalists, who favor recycling and reusing materials, and proponents of waste-to-energy plants. In the case of single-use diapers, however, burning in resource plants appears to pose less of a societal problem than does dumping in landfills. Energy is obtained from the combustion, and the high temperatures destroy any dangerous viruses or bacteria. The diapers are reduced to ash (about 6 percent of the original weight becomes ash) which is then landfilled.
Despite reducing the volume and eliminating the disease potential of single-use diapers, burning any waste will contribute to air pollution. Additionally, the value of the material used as fuel in mass incinerators (4-5 cents per pound) is one-eight the value of the materials if reused. As the trend towards building mass-incinerators and RDF facilities grows, so grows the volume of disposable diapers that end up as electricity, fumes, waste heat and ash. Although burning disposable diapers in mass-incineration may destroy dangerous pathogens, this solution is hardly optimum.
A growing emphasis is being placed on recycling solid waste. States such as New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut have targeted 25-percent recycling goals. New Jersey, California and Oregon already have aggressive recycling programs in place. As the recycling of household glass, cans, plastic and newspapers increase, the percentage of single-use diapers in the solid waste stream will also increase. For example, if single-use diapers make up 3 percent of the municipal solid waste stream today, that percentage will rise to 4 percent once a city or state achieves a recycling goal of 25 percent of solid waste.
The fact is, single-use diapers are specifically designed to be thrown away. Recycling or reusing them is problematic if not impossible, because of the difficulty in separating the product's plastic materials from the cellulose (mostly wood pulp).
In another solid waste management scenario, today's single-use diapers could be recycled in an environmentally sound manner by municipal composting. Commercial composting facilities, which have the potential to mix sewage sludge and municipal solid waste (co-composting), operate at high enough temperatures to kill dangerous viruses. The pulp, paper and human feces from diapers biodegrade into compost, while most of the plastic is screened out of the finish material. This plastic may then either be landfilled or used as a fuel for burning in an RDF plant. This process would be enhanced by using biodegradable plastics.
Although composting municipal solid waste is widely practiced in Europe--where over 200 plants are now in operation--it is only recently gaining acceptance in the U.S. Here, construction of large mass-incinerators continues to be the most popular waste disposal technology. Composting of municipal solid waste and sewage sludge is expected to become increasingly popular in the U.S., as it represents a less capital intensive, simpler and more ecological approach to solid waste management. However, unless or until there is a drastic change in public policy or the direction of waste management technology in the conceivable future, most disposable diapers will be landfilled or burned.
The most logical and environmental approach to disposal of a single-use product is flushing. The sewage waste stream is already equipped to handle urine, feces, and specific types of paper. Sludge recovered from sewage is suitable for recycling through land treatment, assuming that heavy metals from industry have not entered the sewage waste stream. Although present-day single-use diapers are not suitable for flushing down toilets, a new materials configuration could provide a single-use diaper liner that flushes safely. This would require that parents use a traditional nylon, cotton or wool diaper cover in conjunction with single-use diapers.
Although nearly 100 percent of single-use diapers could theoretically be eliminated from landfill disposal by a flushable product, diaper manufacturers have ignored the solid waste problems created by single-use diapers. They have instead focused on integrating super-absorbents (slurpers) into the diaper and adding more materials. Interestingly, the capabilities of some of these super absorbing materials can just as easily enhance the prospects for a flushable diaper option, according to the author's patent review and preliminary field testing. The major barrier to reintroducing a flushable diaper appears not to be plugged-up sewer lines, but a reduction in profits for manufacturers who would use fewer materials in each diaper.
Growing Options for Conscious Diapering In an ironic shift, cotton diapers have now become the major "alternative" to single-use diapers. Even though most households with infants have a supply of cloth diapers on hand for clean-up and keeping shoulders clean, cotton diapers continue to lose market share to single-use diapers.
Even though diaper services serve less than 2 percent of families with children under three (author's estimate), the industry is now beginning to experience a turn-around in business (note: this "turn around ended in 1991, and the diaper service industry is now smaller than when this article was written in 1988). The weekly diaper service picks up soiled, unrinsed diapers, professionally launders them, and delivers clean diapers to the home. Unfortunately, they are often not available in rural or small-town areas. Once considered an elitist luxury for an advantaged few, diaper services can today be a necessary overhead item for dual-career couples with small children.
At anywhere from $9-$12 per week (1988), diaper services still make more economic sense when compared to the $15 that parents spend on single-use diapers--especially when the hidden costs of disposal are factored in. The following analysis does not take into account the value of labor for home washing, which, the author knows from personal experience, can be considerable.
In addition to the economic advantages cotton diapers have over single-use diapers, they are reused from 80 to 100 times each. Plus, the environmental and economic benefits of keeping feces-and urine-filled diapers out of the solid waste stream are substantial, and should not be overlooked by policymakers seeking ways to reduce the growing solid waste burden.
Although single-use diaper manufacturers have succeeded in convincing the public that diaper rashes are a normal, expected part of early childhood, independent tests and the author's own evaluation have demonstrated that rashes are far less frequent with cotton diapers. Although certainly more ecological than single-use diapers, cotton diapers are not perfect either; the larger perspective is marred by the significant laundering requirements of large quantities of water, energy and detergents. As well, home laundering is the least sanitary diapering option when compared to single-use diapers or professional diaper services.
Outright limitations on certain products are not out of the question, as highlighted in a recent solid waste survey of New Hampshire municipal officials. In that survey, 68 percent of respondents indicated they would favor legislative limits or bans on some plastic products. Twenty-one states and many European countries have already introduced legislation to limit or ban plastic packaging waste.
Alternative diapering approaches have not been taken seriously because few recognize the health and solid waste problems created by single-use diapers going to landfills. It also has proven difficult to confront the waste ethic successfully in the U.S., when such a disproportionate value is placed on "convenience" by consumers and marketers. Few environmentalists, cotton diaper services or health proponents can be heard above the public relations and marketing clout exercised by a Proctor & Gamble or Kimberley-Clark.
But, as difficult as it is, we must confront the waste ethic. We have now reached the point where it has become unacceptable to continue to landfill over 16 billion diapers each year. The decreasing availability of landfill space and the increasing and hidden costs of single-use diapers are likely to provide the societal pressure to change diapering modes (note: not so far!).
There are alternatives to sending nearly 10,000 plastic-and-pulp diapers per child to the landfill. Cotton diapers, whether washed at home or by a diaper service, admittedly may require lifestyle and diapering mode changes by many parents and caregivers. Conscious diapering, like conscious living, requires parents and others to think about what they are putting on their children's bodies and where it will ultimately go.
Economic policy should provide incentives to diaper services, which create local jobs as well as diminish the need to landfill single-use diapers. Relying on the same "carrot" approach, incentives for diaper manufacturers to develop a flushable option certainly are more desirable than a ban on single-use diapers from landfills. Incentives to daycare facilities, hospitals and institutions to switch to reusable diapers, gowns and bedding would complement the proven economic advantages of reuse over single-use products. And finally, eliminating landfills as our primary mode of "disposal" and replacing them with resource conservation, recycling and composting, will require a shift in the waste management industry. There are alternatives to disposable products, but they require conscious--often demanding--choices by individuals, industry and government.
The single-use diaper has gotten a free ride for too long. It is time that parents, health care providers, solid waste managers and public policy makers begin to consider seriously the problems caused by, and the alternatives to, the single-use diaper. It's time for a change!
Carl Lehrburger, Whole Earth Review, Fall, 1988
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Ten Reason to Cloth Diaper
1. Cotton is the Most Natural Diaper you can put next to your baby's skin. There is no need for gels or chemicals.
2. Do you know how a Disposable Diaper works? Do you know what's in a disposable diaper (there are no ingredients listed on their package) ? Try this --- cut a disposable diaper in half. Pour water on half and watch what happens. There are tiny chemical crystals that turn into a spongy gel when water hits them.
3. The Environment. A baby will use either 7,000 disposable diapers or 80 cotton diapers. A disposable diaper is used for 2 hours - a cloth diaper is used for 3 years. Think of all the resources used to produce a product that will last for only 2 hours and then be thrown away. Think about where all the billions of throw-away diapers are going to end up.
4. Less Diaper Rash. Studies have shown there is less diaper rash with the use of cotton diapers than with disposable diapers.
5. Cloth costs Less-a lot Less. You will save about $2000 if you use cloth over disposables. While disposables are priced very cheaply for the newborn sizes, as your baby grows the diapers start costing a lot more.
6. Cloth Diapers are Easy To Use. In your mom's day you needed pins, rubber pants, and time to fold a long flat cloth into a diaper. Your options today include wrap covers that require no pins, all in one diapers, and pocket diapers. Today's diaper choices are as easy and convenient as disposable diapers.
7. Babies Potty Train Earlier when they use cotton because they can feel the wetness.
8. It takes a cup full of crude oil to produce the plastic for one disposable diaper.
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2. Do you know how a Disposable Diaper works? Do you know what's in a disposable diaper (there are no ingredients listed on their package) ? Try this --- cut a disposable diaper in half. Pour water on half and watch what happens. There are tiny chemical crystals that turn into a spongy gel when water hits them.
3. The Environment. A baby will use either 7,000 disposable diapers or 80 cotton diapers. A disposable diaper is used for 2 hours - a cloth diaper is used for 3 years. Think of all the resources used to produce a product that will last for only 2 hours and then be thrown away. Think about where all the billions of throw-away diapers are going to end up.
4. Less Diaper Rash. Studies have shown there is less diaper rash with the use of cotton diapers than with disposable diapers.
5. Cloth costs Less-a lot Less. You will save about $2000 if you use cloth over disposables. While disposables are priced very cheaply for the newborn sizes, as your baby grows the diapers start costing a lot more.
6. Cloth Diapers are Easy To Use. In your mom's day you needed pins, rubber pants, and time to fold a long flat cloth into a diaper. Your options today include wrap covers that require no pins, all in one diapers, and pocket diapers. Today's diaper choices are as easy and convenient as disposable diapers.
7. Babies Potty Train Earlier when they use cotton because they can feel the wetness.
8. It takes a cup full of crude oil to produce the plastic for one disposable diaper.
9. Babies learn by imitation. You can teach them by example, the responsible way of dealing with waste. You don't just wrap it up and throw it away.
10. Medical and News Reports from Germany and England now suggest there is a link between the use of disposable diapers and infertility in boys (due to lower sperm count).
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