Compostable Paper Diapers
Posted on Tuesday February 26, 2008 at 11:57PM
Is composting disposable diapers a good environmental solution? Compost created with disposable diapers is called mixed solid waste (MSW) compost, or "dirty" compost. It should not be confused with the nutrient-rich humus of your backyard composter. Dirty compost is not a good soil enhancer. In fact, staff scientist and solid waste expert Jackie Prince of the Environmental Defense Fund says MSW compost is a "low quality, contaminated material with uses limited to landfill cover, for example."
The claim that certain diaper brands are made from "compostable" materials does not alter the reality that they are still just as 100% garbage as brands that do not claim it. The "compostable diaper" claim is merely bait to help consumers feel like they are making a good environmental choice, when in reality they are not.
The more you look into the "recycling" of disposable diapers, the better you'll understand that composting is not an environmental solution for this single-use, plastic product. Cotton diapers are a much better alternative. Reusing a product is recycling in the purest form.
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I know someone who proudly used these "compostable" diapers. I couldn't help but think of how wrong it would be to feed my family food from my garden if I put human waste into the soil. Good to know my concerns were not unfounded.
Posted on Saturday April 05, 2008 at 02:37PM
by
L. Cooley
I know someone who used compostable diapers and bragged about how environmentally friendly they are. But I couldn't help but wonder how I could feed my family food from my garden if I had contaminated the soil with human waste. And as for these things also being flushable? How many flushes will it take to send that diaper down the drain just to cause plumbing problems? A waste of water. Thank you for this article, it's nice to know my concerns were valid.
Posted on Saturday April 05, 2008 at 02:58PM
by
Lara
Lara, I would suggest reading The Humanure Handbook. Composting your own humanure and recycling it into your garden is what it's all about. Google it, it's a free download. It was a good read!
Posted on Wednesday June 18, 2008 at 06:36PM
by
G Lavender
G diapers combine all of the convenience of disposables with the environmental benefits of reusables. The inner core breaks up easily in the bowl once the outer paper cover is ripped apart, sending it to be processed as effluent in 4L (assuming you have a low flow toilet). The outer cotton and inner breathable polyester liner need to be washed only with "large" accidents; maybe 3-4 times per week and can easily be added to other laundry. There is no garbage, and very little water used. They are extremely breathable and my baby finds them very comfortable. I have yet to meet anyone who actually home composts them and certainly, composting the poopy diapers would be a huge mistake. The company website offers many suggestions regarding disposal options. Remember, cloth diapers are washed in large industrial machines requiring many litres of water per wash. This water (containing all of the waste from your baby) becomes effluent just as your toilet water does. There's no difference, only in the quantity of water used. Don't write-off the "compostables" until you become appropriately informed, and no, I don't work for the company, I'm just a huge fan of their system.
Posted on Wednesday September 10, 2008 at 10:17PM
by
L. Hawkins
In response to G diapers a fabulous option.
First I would like to say great that you don't work for the company. Like so
many diaper companies, they will mislead you with the information they don't
tell you.
For starters over 90% of all "low flush" Toilets use 6 liters of water not
4. There are now dual flush toilets so that if the user just does a number
"1" can push a button and the toilet will flush between 1.4 and 1.6 liters
of water. All manufacturer information that I have come across, it is
suggested to do a complete flush (6 liters) if there is any solid waste.
This includes toilet paper. What G-diaper does not tell you is that we, Happy Nappy
use equipment that consumes an average of one (1) liter of water per diaper, to get it
clean. Basic grade four math is that we use one sixth or 83% less water
just in the process to clean the diaper. If you are using a disposable
diaper there is all the environmental issues surrounding the manufacturing
and processing of the diapers. Once again a reusable product is always more
friendly than a one time use diaper. One very important point you have
brought up also needs to be addressed fully. G-Diapers uses polyester in
their design. Polyester is plastic. There is no argument here. Plastic does
not get treated in the effluent as suggested in your comment. It gets
filtered then backwashed into a sediment pond where it will then get removed
and placed in a land fill. There was a very old science trick that
my teacher presented to our class when I was young. A bucket was placed on the
counter and the teacher filed it with large stones. Then asked us if it was
full. A resounding yes was echoed in the class. Then he took another bucket
full of small pebbles and dumped it into the "full" bucket of stones. Like
magic the pebbles all fit in the bucket. "is it full?" again not as loud,
yes was the reply. A bucket of sand was next and the whole bucket of sand
went into this other bucket of stones and pebbles. Yep....it was full now.
Then came the bucket of water. It too was dumped into the already full
stone, then pebble, then sand bucket and it too filled the bucket. Why did I
tell this story? Well for starters, plastic is plastic and plastic does not
decompose. Whether it is big plastic like play sets or small pieces like
diapers or smaller yet like polyester, it is still plastic garbage. Non compostable
garbage. Please don't let people tell you otherwise. We all make choices. No
one makes a bad choice on purpose. Now that you are equipped with more
information, can I suggest that you try us out? Better for baby, Better for
the earth and Better for your pocket book. Heck, if you tell us that you are
the one who wrote the article, I'll give you a free 2 weeks just to show you
how much better we really are. Thanks again for your comments.
Brent P
Posted on Tuesday October 21, 2008 at 08:31AM
by
brent pederson
It was an interesting post about the lack of benefits of compostable diapers. I've always wondered how useful it was. But of course reusing cloth diapers is one of the best way to limit damage to the environment.
Posted on Tuesday April 06, 2010 at 12:02PM
by
Diaper Cakes
We used compostable diapers for my daughter, but did not compost the diapers soiled with poop into our vegetable garden compost - kept it separate. My daughter is now early 3 and out of diapers, but almost EVERY diaper we composted during her 2.5 years in diapers is GONE - completely disintegrated. So, tell me how that is NOT better than filling a landfill with regular diapers?! Cloth or G-diapers may or may not be better environmentally than compostables, but there is no arguement that if you actually compost them, they're better than diapers that take 100's (1000's?) of years to disappear!
Posted on Sunday June 13, 2010 at 04:35PM
by
Jane
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