There hasn’t been a posting on this blog for a few months now. The reason is twofold. And the two are named Kai and Ella, who were born November 11, at 5:39pm and 5:41pm respectively! Yes, that’s right, we are proud new parents of twins!
Our newest family members Ella and Kai
That leads us to a whole new thing to worry about in terms of the environment. (Amongst all the other things we worry about with them directly.) How do we have babies and not ruin the environment at the same time?
There will be a number of posts on this topic in the coming months, but for now one of the biggest problems is diapers.
It is estimated that 27.4 billion disposable diapers are used each year in the US, which is about 3.4 million tons of waste material that ends up in landfills. Regular disposable diapers can take upwards of 500 years to decompose in the landfill. Disposable diapers can use 3.5 times as much energy, 8 times as much non-regenerable raw materials, and 90 times as much renewable material as cloth diapers to manufacture. Even worse, the plastic in disposables is made from oil, which of course causes more CO2 emissions during its manufacture.
Also, disposable diapers create many potential health problems:
- The incidence of diaper rash in 1955 when almost all babies used cloth diapers was 7%. The incidence in 1991 when 90% of babies used disposables was 78%.
- There are many toxic chemicals used in diapers to absorb urine and feces, and to absorb odors. Some of these chemicals have been linked to increased rates of asthma in babies.
- The paper parts of the disposable diapers are almost always bleached. From previous posts, you know that bleach (ie. clorine) is pretty bad for the environment in the first place. But it gets even worse — when you put bleached paper near the skin of a newborn, dioxins may leach out, which are nasty chemicals that can cause cancer, liver damage, and skin diseases.
- Disposables significantly increase the temperature of the scrotum for male babies, resulting in increased rates of male infertility in later years because of lowered sperm counts.
There are other ways.
Cloth diapers are reusable, and no extra CO2 is emitted to grow the cotton. Also, if cotton finds its way into the landfill, it decomposes much faster than the plastic in disposable diapers. (On the order of a few years.) There is evidence that babies in cloth diapers do potty train faster possibly because they dislike the less dry feeling of cloth diapers.
Cloth does have some disadvantages. It takes a good amount of energy and clean water to clean the diapers. Diapers have to be cleaned in very hot water in order to sterilize them. Also, there are problems with leakage because cotton is not stretchy like disposable diapers and it is difficult to form a good seal. I have another friend, however, that claims that people with leakage are just not doing it right, and that you basically have to learn how to fold and apply the diapers properly in order to minimize the leakage.
Another option is non-toxic and non-bleached disposables such as those made by Seventh Generation. These are much healthier for the baby and for the environment. However, they do still use plastic and therefore eventually cause global warming. Also, they also go into the landfills, which is not sustainable.
A third option is diapers made from completely compostable materials such as the gdiaper. Gdiapers are disposable diapers that are also non-toxic and non-bleached, but they are completely compostable in 150 days. Also, they are flushable in regular North American toilets. Gdiaper recommends only composting the wet diapers, and flushing the soiled diapers in order to avoid problems with nasty bacteria in the compost. (See the earlier post on kitty litter.) In this way, gdiapers have the advantages of disposables but are pretty sustainable as well. I have also heard complaints about leakage with the gdiapers as well, however.
We are currently trying the Seventh Generation diapers, and will try the gdiaper soon. The idea is that we will sign up for a cloth diaper service for regular at-home changes, and then use the “green” disposables for travel and to visit grandma who just adores her newest little grandkids. Later, I will let you know how they work.
