Why cloth diaper? Landfill impact.

I’m not going to spend a ton of time on this one because there are a lot of ways to look at environmental impact data. Honestly, it makes my head hurt. Fortunately, this was not the biggest reason we decided to start cloth diapering, so all the details and specific numbers didn’t have much of a bearing on my decision to opt for cloth over “sposies.”

Don’t get me wrong, I love me some trees, but I am unfortunately not as environmentally conscious as I could be. I am not one of the stereotypical “hippy moms” that you may think of when you picture a cloth diapering mom. I am simply a stay at home mom who is looking for any way possible to cut costs on necessities.

Lets just look at a few facts about disposables that may shock you!

Disposables: 

• More than 200,000 trees each year are lost to the manufacture of disposable diapers for babies in the U.S. alone. -TheGoodHuman.com
• The EPA says disposable diapers can last centuries in landfills (some sources say up to 500 years!!!) -U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• “Reusable items, in general, are environmentally preferable to nonreusable items. This applies to diapers.  Although biodegradable or recyclable diapers may have some environmental appeal, reusable diapers have less environmental impact, and they are generally cheaper in the long run.” -CalRecycle.ca.gov
• “Americans throw away 18 billion disposable diapers a year, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).” -GreenAmerica.org

Those are some big numbers! Kinda gross when you think about it, huh? I’m not saying that there is no impact on the environment if you use cloth, but I’m pretty sure our landfills could do with a lot fewer poopy diapers in them!