The Environment

It takes 4.5 trees to make the pulp used in disposable nappies for one baby over 2 years (1.3 million trees for New Zealand babies alone).

Research shows it could take 200-500 years to fully decompose a 'disposable' nappy. In comparison, a paper towel takes 2-4 weeks; a plastic bottle 450 years.

New Zealand babies produce 10 million disposable nappies each week full of raw sewage and traces of disease, vaccines and medicines. This adds up to 52 million disposable nappies each year. This means that over 17 billion nappies will still be sitting around when our children have children.

It costs Christchurch City Council alone, $400,000 to dispose of so called disposable nappies each year.

A house hold with one baby creates 50% of their rubbish with disposable nappies.

Composting disposable nappies has been tried. In fact, it takes only a matter of weeks and then the non biodegradable materials are removed.

Disposable nappies use 3.5 times more energy than cloth nappies from the time of production. This is as much energy as it takes to wash one load of nappies 200 times.

Disposable nappies use 8 times more non-renewable raw materials/resources and create 60 times more solid waste than cloth nappies.

Disposable nappies use 90 times more renewable resources, 4 times more land than cloth nappies. An estimated 359 km of land is required to be under human management for the nappies of over 85% of New Zealand babies. Cloth nappies for the same number of babies would require approximately 10km² of land to grow cotton.

As disposable nappies are soiled and removed from the baby's bottom, how many parents are following the manufacturers instructions on the packet which says to flush soiling down the toilet? Not many! Instead, they are rolled up into a neat little ball and popped in the rubbish bin possibly in a plastic bag (to preserve it forever) and there it will sit and fester for the rest of the week until collection day when it will then be taken to the landfill site (which is not designed to handle human waste) and possibly leach into water supplies or be picked and gnawed at but the local vermin, birds and flies.

One baby could produce close to 2 tonnes of solid waste in their 2 maybe 3 years nappy life. Imagine having to bury over 6000 'single use' disposable nappies in your backyard where they would sit for up to 500 years!

Cotton nappies are not without their evils, conventionally grown, using pesticides, herbicides and fungicides. But research reveals that even if every parent converted to using cloth nappies this would have a minimal impact on the environment when compared to the overall effects of disposable nappies.

Almost every environmental impact of using cloth nappies can be reduced in the home. It is the intention of Funky Bumz Reusable Nappies to educate parents of these practices. Some concern is that an increased use of cloth nappies would increase the use of pesticides etc., however studies show that even if every single disposable nappy was replaced with a reusable cotton nappy it would have minimal impact on the cotton industry. Cotton nappies also have the process of chlorine bleaching and parents have, in the past, used chlorine bleach to keep nappies crisp white. The environmental impact of chlorine bleaching paper products is far greater. Bleach is not necessary and most cotton manufacturers will tell you not to use it on their fabrics. More eco-friendly alternatives such as bicarbonate soda or white vinegar are quite suitable. Commercial Laundering can also prove to be more efficient and more eco-friendly even when the vehicle emissions are taken into account.

Stated in simple terms, it would be wise to educate our people to 'Quit buying and throwing out so much'. It may say disposable but what happens to the product when it leaves your gate in that over full rubbish sack? How long will it sit around the landfill? Will it break down, and over how long? It costs five times less in resource terms to manufacture and launder a cloth nappy than to manufacture and throw away a disposable. If one were to make the decision based solely on environmental issues, the choice would be clear.

No nappy method or industrial endeavour is without its environmental impact. But what will the future hold for the earth if we do not REDUCE the amount of waste we produce, REUSE any item we can as often as we can, RECYCLE anything we cannot reuse. Is the earth we as New Zealanders live on worth preserving, or do we continue our throw away lifestyles, because we won't be here long enough to live the reality of the problems we create?

We live in beautiful lush surroundings, if we keep taking it for granted it will soon be gone. Disposal of rubbish is not yet a problem for New Zealand. Lets keep it green. Prevention is much more effective than a panicked cure. Will there be a cure for the refuse piled up right in our backyards in 30, 40, or 50 years?