Finding the Perfect Eco-Friendly Diaper
By: Aaron Guhl
More and more people everyday are attempting to go green. Unfortunately a large hurdle to that movement for many parents is the diapers for their babies. Eco-friendly diapers are hard to come by and there just aren't enough landfills to handle the large amount of disposable diapers out there.
According to the EPA, infants and toddlers go through approximately 5,000 diapers while potty training and they take up about 3.4 millions tons landfill space (That is about 2% of the total waste amount for the US). To make diapers eco-friendly, diapers will need to bypass landfills and the harsh chemicals they use.
An easy solution at first may be to decide to use cloth diapers instead of disposable. Unfortunately it isn't as clear cut of a decision as that. There are a few things you will need before you make the move to cloth.
A dedicated and reliable washing machine is high on the list as well as your time to wash the cloth diapers constantly. You'll need to pick an environmentally friendly laundry detergent as well as a cloth diaper that is comfortable for your child.
This is definately one of the more preferable eco-friendly methods to the diaper dilemma, but it may not fit everyone's situation. City dwellers may have to use a diaper service, but many times eco-friendly diapers are not available as part of that service. Because of the heavy cleaning costs that include lots of hot water and chlorine bleach to ensure that bacteria is killed off, these services are certainly not the greenest.
So back to disposables for many. Typical disposable diapers like Pampers or Huggies are not very eco-friendly. Their manufacturing process involves chlorine which is a volatile organic compound or a VOC. They also are made with a chemical gel that is used to absorb a baby's urine. These gels are made with sodium polycrylate which is known to cause respiratory and skin irritation problems (although usually only seen in much higher concentrations than those found in diapers).
Then there are biodegradable diapers. But the reality is that biodegradable diapers don't truly exist because of the shear amount of diapers versus the shortage of landfills. But many of these biodegradable diapers do contain gel that is nontoxic, non-carcinogenic and are free of chemicals that irritate the skin. But there is limited research into the gels used.
Flushable diapers are also an option and provide the ability to be flushed down the toilet. This eliminates the landfill problem. Many conventional diapers have a landfill life of about 500 years. But again, the gel that these flushable diapers use have limited research into them despite being touted as eco-friendly.
If one thing can be said about diapers, it is that they are still a ways away from being truly eco-friendly. Research still needs to be done on many of the gels used in these new so called bio-degradable diapers. Future eco-friendly diapers will need to include the benefits of all the diapers of today. They'll need to be flushable with no gel absorbents or harsh chemicals as well as be comfortable for your baby to wear.