Babies are bundles of joy who produce a bundle of diapers. The average kid uses between 8,000 and 10,000 diapers before he's successfully potty-trained, the Clean Air Council reports. Many people opt for the disposable type, throwing away about 570 diapers every second, the council adds. Those numbers present a telling picture of diapers' effect on the environment.
Numbers
Disposable diapers have some big numbers, and one small one, in relation to solid waste. On the small side, the University of Minnesota Extension says disposable diapers make up a scant 2 percent of overall household waste. Numbers soar upward from there, the Clean Air Council and Knox News report. U.S. landfills take in 50 million disposable diapers each day, which pans out to 18 billion each year.
Biodegradability
The biodegradability of disposable diapers, and the amount of time they supposedly take to break down, is a major question without a definitive answer. The Clean Air Council puts the amount of time it takes disposable diapers to biodegrade at 300 years, while Knox News says the process can take up to 500 years. Because both estimates are longer than disposable diapers have even been around, they are, at best, educated guesses. The University of Minnesota Extension says to be wary of any claims of biodegradability at all because disposable diapers have no established record of biodegradability. This makes it impossible to judge when, if ever, the diapers break down, according to the extension office.
Resources
In addition to creating solid waste, the University of Minnesota Extension says disposable diapers deplete a lot of natural and other resources. Disposable diapers consist of 70 percent paper and 30 percent synthetic materials, such as plastic. The paper production kills trees while the synthetic materials use nonrenewable petroleum. Don't forget to add the cost of any chemicals, energy, water, transportation, labor and equipment it takes to produce, distribute and later get rid of the diapers.
Hazards
Disposable diapers clearly present hazards to the environment and natural resources, but they might not be a health hazard. Even though diapers contain feces, and throwing them in a landfill would technically violate some landfill rules, the University of Minnesota Extensions says no proof exists that disposable diapers are a health hazard if dealt with according to disposal, composting or incineration regulations.
Alternative
Cloth diapers are one alternative to disposable diapers, although neither type is clearly a less waste-producing choice. Cloth diapers produce at least 70 percent less solid waste than disposable diapers, the University of Minnesota Extension notes, but tax the environment in their own way. Cloth diapers lead to more waste water due to washing them, with the average load of diapers using up to 50 gallons of water as well as chemicals. Producing cloth diapers also uses more natural resources than producing a disposable diaper, although cloth diapers can be reused up to 75 times.
