Saving the Planet, One Diaper at a Time
By Alan Greene, M.D.
www.drgreene.com
As a father and pediatrician, I’ve changed many diapers—enough to teach
me that diapers are a daily reminder that as humans we deplete resources
as we consume, and we make messes with our waste.
Those landfill diapers that are so easily tossed into the trash are
clearly a major ecological issue. But what about the energy, water, and
often chlorine involved in laundering cloth diapers? Comparing the
environmental impact of different types of diapers has been the subject
of a number of studies—with differing results often linked to the vested
interests of those behind the study.
The largest and most objective study to date was carried out by the
Environment Agency, the public body responsible for protecting the
environment in England and Wales.19 The panel compared disposable
diapers to home-laundered cloth diapers and commercially laundered
cotton diapers in terms of global warming, ozone depletion, smog
formation, depletion of nonrenewable resources, water pollution,
acidification, human toxicity, and land pollution. The study did not
include what I call hybrid diapers—the reusable diapers equipped with
flushable, biodegradable liners.
This study found that overall environmental impact is about the same for
all three options they did consider; the biggest impact is on global
warming, resource depletion, and acidification. For disposable diapers,
the most significant impact comes during manufacture; for home-laundered
diapers, the primary impact comes from the electricity used in washing
and drying; for commercially laundered diapers, the biggest impact comes
from use of fuels and electricity.
Thus, according to the Environment Agency, if you choose cloth diapers,
the first focus should be on reducing the energy used during washing and
drying and reducing fuels and emissions during transportation (see
Chapter Seven for more information about laundry). If you choose
disposable diapers, focus first on greener manufacturing, such as used
by the Eco-Diapers mentioned previously.
Although the Environment Agency report is more thorough than other
analyses to date, it is still quite incomplete. For instance, it looked
only at the major brands used—not the greener alternatives. It didn’t
look at making choices back at the very beginning of the manufacturing
process: at the oil rigs where the plastic liners of landfill diapers
begin, at the forests where the wood pulp starts as trees, and in the
cotton fields long before cotton is a cloth. There is a big difference
between cotton grown drenched in toxic chemicals and cotton organically
grown, between sustainable forestry and irresponsible logging, between
dioxin-producing chlorine gas in pulp mills and bleach-free diapers.
Whatever we choose for diapers, we have an unavoidable impact on the
environment. But whatever we choose, we can make those diapers a little
greener.
About The Author
Dr. Alan Greene, author of Raising Baby Green, is a graduate of Princeton
University and the University of California San Francisco. In addition to being
the founder of www.DrGreene.com, he is the Chief Medical Officer of A.D.A.M. He
is the Chair of The Organic Center and on the Advisory Board of Healthy Child
Healthy World. Dr. Greene appears frequently on TV, radio, websites, and in
print including appearances on The Today Show, Good Morning America, Fox and
Friends, The Wall Street Journal, Parents Magazine, and US Weekly. Dr. Greene is
Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at Stanford University's Packard Children's
Hospital.
Used With Permission
