🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <37536@sdcc12.ucsd.edu> tcritchl@sdcc3.ucsd.edu (Tod Critchlow) writes:
>                      ... we are trying to make
>the diaper decision...
>	From the things I have read
>it seems like there really isn't any consensus.
>Although most of the information that is pro-disposable 
>comes from the diaper companies...

There IS a consensus: Paper diapers ARE a major component of
landfill bulk.  If you kid has gastrointestinal infections,
the microbes wind up being stored in/near the landfill.
They are NOT environmentally sound.  If you care about the 
environment, call your local diaper service and ask them for 
their literature.

The disposable makers say you should remove the liner from the
plastic cover and flush it so that human waste doesn't enter
the landfill and spread disease: I've NEVER heard of ANYONE
doing that!

My wife and I have raised two boys using cloth diapers almost
exclusively (the younger one is just at the threshold of being
reliably potty-trained).  We use paper diapers when we go on multi-day
trips, and keep some around in case we run out of cloth diapers.

Cloth diapers are somewhat more hassle to put on than paper
ones, and you do have to remember each week to put the soiled
diapers out and retrieve the clean ones.  The extra effort to
put cloth diapers on is less work than separating bottles, cans
and other recyclables for curbside pickup.  Cloth diapers are a bit 
cheaper if you go with a diaper service, and MUCH cheaper if
you wash them yourself.  I suspect that the diaper service does
a better job of washing the soiled diapers with less water than
you're likely to do at home.

I suggest you try out the 'diaper wraps' the diaper services offer.
These are a "replacement" for plastic/vinyl pants with quick-
closing velcro.  They work out well for some kids and not for
others.  My kids love playing in dirt and other "active"
activities so much that the vinyl pants work out better for us.

The whole disposable diaper story makes me a bit sick to my
stomach.  Disposables are definitely a boon when you're travelling,
but why does our society buy into the "use-it-once-and-landfill-it"
mentality that the Kleenex people invented to create a perpetual
market for themselves?  The product is fine for occasional use,
but to rely on them exclusively makes less sense than eating
from paper plates and pastic 'silver'ware every day.