USE CLOTH DIAPERS

 

Americans throw away 18 billion disposable diapers a year‑‑enough to stretch to the moon and back seven times.

 

BACKGROUND

 

In 1961, Proctor and Gamble introduced the first affordable disposable diaper, Pampers. To most parents, it seemed like a triumph of modem technology‑a clean, convenient way to deal with an unpleasant, messy problem.

 

It was an instant financial bonanza for P&G, too. Other brands soon appeared, and today there are dozens of varieties to choose from. But along with them comes indisputable evidence that disposable diapers are taking a serious toll on the environment.

 

SUPER DATA

 

About 1% of all of America's landfill space is occupied by disposable diapers. They can take up to 500 years to decompose in a land­ fill. Cotton diapers, which can be reused up to 100 times, decom­pose in I to 6 months.

 

Disposable diapers consume an incredible amount of resources annually in America ‑1,265,000 metric tons of wood pulp and 75,000 metric tons of plastic. Manufacturers recommend that people wash out disposable dia­pers before discarding them, but only about 5% of us do. This means that every year, millions of tons of soiled, potentially disease, infected diapers are dumped into "sanitary" landfills.

 

Environmental Action estimates that because of disposable dia­pers, "3 million tons of untreated feces and urine end up in landfills rather than in the sewage system every year." The biggest potential problem: contamination of groundwater by viruses. E. A. points out: "More than 100 different intestinal viruses are known to be ex­creted in human feces, including polio and hepatitis." Fortunately, no groundwater contamination of this nature has been discovered. But with the build‑up growing geometrically, it may be just a mat­ter of time.

 

Degradable disposable diapers don't seem to be the answer. They do decompose faster than standard disposables (they have a starch base, so the plastic breaks into little pieces)‑but they take up the same space in landfills, and the health risks are the same.

 

DIAPER‑Dos

 

This is a tough one‑not because there's any question about what we ought to do, but because it’s hard to give up disposable diapers. A recent poll, for example, showed 87% of Americans prefer them.

 

If You're Ready for Cloth Diapers: 0 Diaper services pick up and deliver cloth diapers. Find them in the Yellow Pages, or contact the National Assn. of Diaper Services, 2017 Walnut St., Philadelphia, PA 19103. (215) 569‑3650.

 

Cloth diapers are ecologically sound‑waste disposal is monitored by municipal health boards, and worn‑out diapers are recycled into rags for industry.

 

Prices are competitive with disposables‑in fact, they may be cheaper, depending on whose statistics you believe. Some indicate that diaper services can be half as expensive as disposable diapers.

 

If You Have a Hard Time Switching to Cloth Diapers: Remember, it doesret have to be all or nothing. Better to alternate between cloth and disposables than to use disposables; exclusively.

 

0One possibility: Use a diaper service at home, and disposable diapers when you're away. And if your child goes to a day‑care center, he or she might need disposables there, too.

 

If You're Using Cloth Diapers, You'll Need Diaper Covers: Cloth diapers don't absorb moisture the way disposable diapers do, so you'll need diaper covers to act as a shield between the diaper and the rest of the world. Natural fibers are best, and 100% wool felt seems to be the top of the line because it offers "complete breathability," and doeWt irritate babies.

 

SOURCES

* Mothering magazine, PO Box 1690, Santa Fe, NM 87504. Best

place to learn about natural~fiber diapering products.

 

For diaper covers and related products: 'o Bio‑Bottoms, PO Box 6009,3820 Bodega. Ave., Petaluma, CA 94953. Wool mid other natural fiber products. Send $1 for catalog. 0 Baby Bunz and Company, PO Box 1717, Sebastopol, CA 95473. Another natural fiber company. Send $1 for catalog. 0 Diaperaps, PO Box 3050, Granada Hills, CA 91394. (800) ‑25 1‑432 1. Cotton and nylon diaper covers.

 

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