Once upon a time, no one had ever heard of disposable diapers. Strange as it may seem, babies were born and raised for hundreds of years without them. Cloth diapers were the norm. My first children, born in the early sixties, never had their skin touched by the numerous chemicals that go into producing disposable diapers. Stop! Don’t use disposable plastic diapers.

When disposable diapers first came out, they were considered a luxury. But it didn’t take long before they took over the baby world. I’ll have to admit that my third child, born in 1970, never wore a cloth diaper. No more laundry days spent folding diapers! Who wouldn’t love that?

Since that time, landfills all over the world are jammed with plastic diapers that will be impacting the environment for hundreds of years to come. It’s been estimated that it takes 500 years for a plastic diaper to decompose in a landfill. Politicians are quick to criticize fossil fuels and demand that we respect the environment with clean energy. And yet , I’ve never once heard a politician propose that we do away with plastic disposable diapers. Think of all the votes they would lose!

Not for profit diaper banks are available in many communities. Well meaning charities are praised for helping low income women keep their babies clean and dry. Disposable diapers are considered a necessity, not a luxury. Consequently, discarded dirty plastic diapers are everywhere– along the highways, in parking lots, public restroom, and beaches.

Stop! Don't Use Disposable Diapers; use bamboo cloth instead

Stop! Don’t Use Disposable Diapers. They’re expensive and clog up landfills.

You can now purchase biodegradable bamboo disposable diapers but they’re way too pricey for the average consumer. Wouldn’t it be better if diaper banks issued bamboo cloth diapers? They’re earth friendly, without skin irritating chemicals. If we banned plastic diapers just as some communities have banned plastic bags, landfills would stop filling up with dirty diapers. Money would be saved to be spent on other necessities.

According to a recently published article in Mint Intuit ” Disposables came in at $800 for the year, while reusables cost $584 – a savings of 27 percent. That savings climbs drastically – to 60 percent – when you look at the second year of your child’s life. Cloth diapers require scant extra investment, while disposables keep hacking at your wallet.”

Inflation is rapidly eating away at our purchasing power. Stop! Don’t use disposable diapers. They are more expensive than cloth.

Everyone agrees that single-use plastic is one of the worst things that’s happened to the environment. Plastic sticks around for ages, threatening wildlife and spreading toxins. Activists have banned the use of plastic bags in a few American cities, but the trend really hasn’t taken hold. Even though I bring cloth bags to Aldi’s because I have to, I will admit to laziness when it comes to supermarkets who provide multiple plastic bags. It’s so much easier to let them do it. Environmentalists insist that the day must come when we stop jamming up our oceans with piles of plastic trash. But the question is, can we live without single-use plastic?

Can we live without single use plastics? The oceans are full of plastic . — Can we live without single-use plastics? By the year 2050, the ocean will have more plastic debris than fish.

Let’s start at the bottom with disposable diapers. There are charitable organizations that provide free disposable diapers to low income women. Can anyone of child bearing age believe that you can do without them? Well, I did. Used cloth diapers, which could be thrown in the washing machine and reused for years on end. However, by the time my third child was born, I succumbed to the lure of disposable diapers. Which are actually coated with plastic.

Disposable baby diapers form a sizeable portion of non-recyclable landfill waste. They also contain many harmful chemicals that are subsequently dispersed into the environment.

Let’s move on to packaging. Half the products on our shelves are in plastic containers. Laundry detergent, ketchup, mustard—the list goes on and on. They used to sell such products in either cardboard boxes or glass bottles. I guess that was a lot more expensive than using plastic.

According to the National Geographic:

“The conveniences plastics offer a throw-away culture that reveals the material’s dark side. Today, single-use plastics account for 40 percent of the plastic produced every year. Many of these products, such as plastic bags and food wrappers, have a lifespan of mere minutes to hours, yet they may persist in the environment for hundreds of years.”

Take the time to look around your house—the kitchen and bathroom, in particular. How many of the items you use every day are packaged in plastic? The alternative, of course, is paper. Paper and cardboard are renewable materials that are easy to source. They are also inexpensive and can be used for a variety of different packaging elements.

Can we live without single use plastics? Decades from now, our descendants may wish that we had.

Tag: diaper banks

STOP! DON’T USE DISPOSABLE DIAPERS.

CAN WE LIVE WITHOUT SINGLE-USE PLASTICS?