On Good Morning America today, they did a short segment entitled “Diapers and Showers and Sodas, Oh My!” and in the segment they included the waste that is accumulated from disposable diapers. They also included a negative outlook on cloth diapering. They stated it is NOT a better alternative due to the use of water and energy to heat the water. How absurd!
It is just like the news to tell us the “problem” without ever offering a solution. Also, they failed to include how much cloth diapering has changed and the advancements in washer/dryer technology that WERE MADE TO HELP THE ENVIRONMENT!
Evidently National Geographic is supposed to be airing a show on “Human Footprint” (April 13th), which story goes along the same lines as the GMA segment today. I would be curious to see if they did their research into cloth diapers. I would leap to say, Heck No!
GMA this morning reported “Over the first years of life, an American baby will wear 3,796 diapers.” They also stated that it takes 500 years for disposable diapers to decompose. Pretty nasty thought! This is where their logic fails them; “Since it probably takes hundreds of years for the diaper's plastic to biodegrade, you'd think cloth diapers would be a viable solution. But have you considered what it takes to launder 3,796 diapers? How about 22,455 gallons of water.” This estimate of water is so far fetch! Most newer washers and dryers come with a cycle that is Eco-friendly. Also, who says those who use cloth diapers are washing them everyday? Most people that cloth diaper may was the diapers once or twice a week. As far as the cost of drying the cloth diapers, there is always the old fashioned option of line drying. I would still say the actually washing of cloth diapers and the flushing of baby's poop, is far more acceptable than the idea of 3,796 diapers for one child sitting in a landfill for 500 years waiting to decompose.
Also, why wasn't baby wipes added to the discussion? They also sit in land fills. Malachi and I have decided to switch to cloth wipes as well. It just seems logical since we are using cloth diapers. They may seem more convenient but, again they cost a pretty penny and they just get thrown away. Cloth wipes can be thrown in the wash with the diapers.
Another thing that I find perplexing is that they never mentioned feminine products that are used daily for menstruating women. I would think they are more harmful to the environment as they are biohazards. There are cloth feminine products that are washable. I am going to look into using those from now on...well after this pregnancy. Most if not all the websites that I purchase cloth diapers from also sell feminine products.
For more information on cloth diapers, you can check out my previous post “Cloth Diapers: What we use and why”.
Serving God and My Family,
Crystal <>< (SAHM)
1 comment:
I read a article in Mothering magazine about cloth diapers and the environment. IIRC, the studies stating that cloth diapers used more water and electricity to wash than the making of disposables were paid for by diaper companies! There was a study in the early 1990s by someone not related to the diaper industry. The findings were that cloth diapers washed by a diaper service used less water and electricity than disposables, but cloth diapers washed by individuals used a little more water and electricity. However, washer and dryer efficiency has advanced significantly since the study, and so an individual washing cloth diapers may use even less water and electricity than the production of disposables.
Even if more resources are used by an individual, you don't have the negative environmental impacts of lingering disposable diapers in landfills.
I'm not sure what the electricity cost is, but we did not notice an increase in either our water or electricity bill with the cloth diapers. We've had a gas dryer since we've moved. Only our stove and dryer are on gas in the summer, and our gas bill is $10-$15, and I think $3-4 is a basic service charge. So the cost of drying the cloth diapers in the gas dryer is practically nothing. I can't imagine that it takes that it takes more resources to dry the diapers with gas than it does to produce cloth diapers.
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