environmental issues - cloth or disposables??

[runnermum]

hi there,
I want to find some credible research and comparison on the environmental impact of using BOTH cloth/pocket nappies and disposables. I think maybe Choice has done some reseach??

i am concerned more about the increased use of water due to washing but also I realise that in order to make disposable nappies, there are many resources to be used in the manufacturing to this. Then there is the issue of increase ENERGY in the form of heating hot water to wash cloth nappies and extra flushing of toilets to get rid of excess poo...

but then again there is the issue of landfill for disposables and use of chemicals. But then again there is the use of detergents in washing nappies !! Ahh...

I am wanting to weigh up pros and cons for both - in the environmental sense. I am happy to pay extra either way if it means a better environmental choice, and as I say, particularly in saving water and protecting our waterways - since i will be living within spitting distance of the ocean and other important waterways very soon !!

[satya]

Whilst waiting for my GD test I came across a green magazine that just happenned to have an article on this very subject.

It basically said the damage to the environment is pretty much identical.

It said that cotton takes huge amounts of water to produce it, as do most other crops that nappies can be made out of. As you said the water & chemicals which are in almost all laundry products you wash nappies in is bad too.

With disposables it said that way less water was used to make them. I think it said that the chemicals used to make them was about the same as what you would use in washing cloth. Of course there are landfill issues with disposables.

I was already thinking disposables at that stage and didn't feel guilty for choosing them after reading that article.

I also buy Aldi disposables which are not made in Australia where we have water shortages like we do in Melbourne so I feel like I'm saving our water just a little. The ones I've had are made in Germany which as far as I know do not have any water shortages. Of course there are added carbon miles by buying something from overseas.

It's all very hard to work out, but the article said it was 50/50.

[The[cookie]Doctor]

Just a side note WRT flushing poo down the toilet - you are supposed to flush all faecal matter down the toilet anyway, be that from cloth OR disposable, in some states it is illegal not to.

[Indadhanu]

I read a study I found on google scholar that said that if you take no envirinmentally friendly measures when using cloth then its practically the same impact. But if you use flushable nappy liners (eliminating the need to soak), water-saving options on your washing machine (keeping the 'suds' for the garden etc), natural sanitising agents for the nappies, a green detergent, cold wash, and line dry... you are making your cloth choice more environmentally friendly.

ETA: I wash my cloth in cold water, and they come up absolutely fine

ETA#2: If you installed a tank and used it to do washing that would be even better!

[Sammiejane]

I wash in cold too, i also use an enviro powder for the nappies so that when i get around to it the final rinse water can go outside.
For me, it wasnt just the water it was what i was putting on my baby's bum that mattered more.
we have had no rashes at all and MJ has never been in sposies.
The cost in not ongoing (unless you like to indulge in cute nappies) so there is more money in my pocket.
nappycino has some good information.
Infact when i was pg i read loads and loads of articles to try and weigh it up. just google it, loads should pop up.
Cloth sits better with me... i love seeing the line of freshly washed nappies (and no its not taht much effort) I also know that the next baby that i have will be in the same nappies and if my sister has babies she will inherit my stash, so it goes alot further than just one baby in cloth... i guess if you factor more children into the equation cloth comes out better

[Pretty Butterfly]

I have only just started with cloth.


But I use "enviro" powder, and only a fraction of what they recommend per load.
No soaking required.
A lot of cloth nappiers are made out of natural materials, not man made.
I wash in cold, as do most I think.
We dont flush because of a little baby poo, the next one in flushes when they are done...
We are also on tank water too.

So I think my impact for using cloth now is a good one!!!



Definatly better than when I used disposables. The days of washing in hot with heaps of powder are gone. The new MCN make it easy and in my opinion, a much better impact.


ETA.... I worked out I can cloth Kane and the next bubba from birth to toilet training, for the price of only 6 months of disposables for one child...Not bad!!!

[Indadhanu]

Oh, and I worked out...

I spent $100 in cloth nappies (I have 12 cheap fitted Environap brand nappies off ebay, plus two packs of terry flats), plus some pilchers ($10), plus liners ($8 each). We have been through almost 3 boxes of 200 nappy liners so almost 600 nappies. Had we been using disposable that would have cost us upwards of $200 already (considering that she has been in 'infant' size since 3 weeks). I don't have to spend any more on nappies except pilchers when she grows out of these ones and liners every so often.

So, if you were concerned about the extra energy used to wash etc, you could make contributions to green energy with the money you save when you use cloth.