Disposable Diapers and
the Environment
Over 18 billion diapers(disposables)were bought in the Untied States in 1988. Based on calculations it is estimated that now an average of over 28 billion are being thrown into the landfill system.
Instructions on the package of disposable give advice to throw the fecal matter into the toilet before disposing of the diaper into the trash although only one half of one percent actually goes into the sewage system which means ninety-nine and one half percent ends up in the dump.
Nearly $300 million dollars in 1988 was spent to discard disposable diapers but cotton diapers are reused many hundreds of times before they become household rags.
In all honesty no one knows for sure how long it takes a disposable diaper to decompose. It has been estimated to take 200-500 years. Your grand children ,great grand children and their ancestors will be history before the disposable diapers are gone. The third largest single consumer item in land fills are disposable diapers.This represents 4% of all solid waste. A household that uses disposable diapers 50% of the household waste is from these diapers.
It takes over 300 pounds of trees,50 pounds of petroleum feedstocks and 20 pounds of chlorine to produce enough diapers for each baby each year.
IN 1991 there was an experiment to try and recycle disposable diapers. 800 families in Seattle Washington along with 30 Day Care centers,a hospital and a Seattle based recycler for the period of one full year. Proctor and Gamble came to the conclusion that is not feasible economically to recycle disposable diapers on any scale.
Dioxin
A chemical found in disposables that the EPA has determined to be the most toxic of cancer causing chemicals. Dioxin is used in the bleaching process of the paper used in disposables. Most countries have banned this chemical but not the United States.
Tributyl-tin(TBT)
A pollutent that is know to cause hormonal problems in animals and humans. It is a toxin also.
Sodium Polyacrylate
A super absorbant polymer used in disposable diapers and tampons. When wet is expands and becomes a gel like substance.In the 1980's it was found to increase the risk of toxic shock syndrome.
The Archives of Disease in Childhood published research in May 2000 thats states an increase in scrotal tempurate in boys that wore disposable diapers. It also showed the the prolonged use of this type of diaper will dull or completely stop the physiological testicular cooling system which is so important in normal sprem production in adulthood.
These facts can be found at realdiaperassociation.org