diaeress

   For centuries peoople have used cloth diapers. Today, with manufacturing and technological advancements, the disposable diaper has been invented and selected by many as the better choice. This has become a slightly controversial issue as people weigh the efficiency and convenience of disposables against the lower cost and reduced waste of cloth. As a mother, I find this issue worthwhile to consider in the interest of making the most reasonable choice for myself, not only as a mother, but as a member of society as well.

     I believe that cloth diapers are the better choice, as they create less garbage and have a lower cost. Also, the environmental cost for disposables is one that I feel is unfair for the earth to pay.

     Disposables are causing a landfill crises. They represent about twelve thousand, three hundred tons of waste per day, which makes about eighteen billion diapers per year. They take centuries to fully decompose, and allow fecal matter to end up in landfills where it can seep into ground water, whereas cloth diapers keep it in the sewer where it belongs. Disposables are also unnecessarily taxing on resources, as they use one million, two hundred sixty five tons of wood pulp and seventy five thousand metric tons of plastics per year. On top of all that, it is more expensive to use disposables. They cost from twenty-two to thirty-nine cents a piece, plus three hundred million dollars a year to dispose of, whereas cloth dapers cost only thirteen cents a piece, or fifteen cents a piece when you are using a diaper cleaning service.

     On the other hand, there is plenty of room in this country for landfills, which are typically ten acres and can handle a city with a population of one hundred thousand for ten years. Remember that there are six hundred forty acres in a square mile, and nearly three million square miles in the country. New, quicker ways to decompose disposable diapers are becoming standard, such as the biodegradable diaper. Procter and Gamble is working with a Minnesota company to compost two to three tons of diapers per day in a new method that hastens decomposition. Fecal matter is not a risk in landfills as government studies have found that medical wastes (which are much more dangerous than diapers) pose almost no risk to ground water. Besides, new landfills constructed today are lined with plastics and impermeable clays to prevent seepage. Cloth diapers are taxing on resources as well, in the way that large quantities of water at high temperatures are required to sterilize them for re-use. Not only does this tax our water supply, but the power needed to heat the water increases the intensity with which a power plant needs to work, in turn increasing the pollution it produces. The use of cloth diapers is even more taxing and polluting if one uses a diaper cleaning service, as the pick-up and delivery trucks use fuel and create their own air and noise pollution. Finally, although disposables may cost more, some feel that the convenience and time saved is well worth spending a bit more.

     In conclusion, I find that both arguments have their influence, but one outweighs the other in my mind. After carefully considering each argument, I have changed my thinking to favor disposable diapers. The facts above have convinced me that there is no right or wrong choice when thinking of environmental effects, as they are equally taxing. Another factor that was not mentioned previously is that, having used both kinds, I preferred the higher absorbancy of disposables. And as for cost vs. convenience and efficiency, the latter is what works best for me.