Are diapers biodegradable, and is there a better way to diaper?

Are diapers biodegradable? Are diapers biodegradable or not is the question of what materials they are made of. Most diaper components primarily include an absorbent material, adhesives, and plastic outer layers, such as polyethylene or polypropylene films. The latter takes up to 500 years to decompose in soil. Thus, regular diapers are not biodegradable.

Moreover, according to EPA more than 80 percent of produced disposable diapers, which amounts to 3,3 million tons, get buried in landfills. Diapers comprise around 7% of nondurable household waste there.

Can disposable diapers be recycled?

Generally, disposable diapers can’t be recycled, since the majority of them contain human waste that may be contaminated or have harmful bacteria present.

Theoretically, some components of diapers can be recovered and recycled. However, this proves to be costly and difficult to implement.

You would need to collect diapers separately from other household waste and clean and dismantle them.

Materials that most diapers are made of also render them non-compostable. The only way to reduce the amount of diapers winding up in landfills is incineration.

As for diaper packaging, it can be recycled rather easily. Both cardboard and plastic shrink-wrap packages should be clean and dry and sorted accordingly.

Green and natural diapers

On average, one baby can go through up to 7 thousand disposable diapers before they are potty trained. And as we learned, diapers are a major source of waste. Not only do all those diapers pile up in landfills but they may also release toxins and methane. It’s estimated that over 100 years methane will warm the planet 28 times more than carbon dioxide.

Due to that, many parents naturally look for a more eco-friendly diapering option. These options include reusable cloth diapers, compostable or biodegradable diapers, or so-called hybrid diapers.

Cloth diapers

One of the eco-friendly diaper alternatives is using traditional diapers, made of cotton or bamboo cloth. Even though they tend to cost way higher than disposable ones, they are reusable and should be looked at as an investment.

So they seem like the best solution in terms of reducing the volume of waste and helping the environment. Turns out it’s not so simple.

It is said that electricity and water consumption from machine-washing cloth diapers will overall make them less eco-friendly than disposable diapers.

You should also take into account the production of cotton for diapers and the environmental impact of it.

To negate this effect, you should consider reusing cloth diapers with several kids, washing them in fuller loads and line drying them. Also, try choosing bamboo as a core material as it makes for a better option than cotton cloth diapers.

Plant-based diapers, and bamboo diapers specifically, offer a ton of advantages over most disposable diapers. Even though bamboo may sound like an uncomfortable material to wear, it’s not. It will benefit not only the environment but your baby as well:

1. Bamboo diapers typically don’t contain any unnecessary toxic chemicals, such as chlorine and bleach, dioxins, and parabens, which can be present in disposable diapers. This means they won’t irritate the baby’s skin. It significantly reduces the chance of getting a diaper rash, which most babies may suffer from.
2. Bamboo wicks moisture away from the skin and has anti-bacterial properties. These are connected, as moisture wicking will keep the baby drier and prevent the occurrence of an environment favorable to the growth of bacteria. This also lets you change bamboo diapers less often than cotton cloth diapers.
3. Bamboo is hypoallergenic.
4. It is derived from a renewable eco-conscious resource. Most bamboo species grow up to four feet a day and will fully mature in three to six years. They regenerate from the roots, so there’s no need for replanting bamboo. It releases 35% more oxygen than trees of the same size while absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
5. Bamboo diapers are incredibly absorbent and, therefore, don’t require as many layers of material and are subsequently less bulky, unlike cotton diapers.

Biodegradable diapers

Another one of the eco-friendly alternatives is using disposable biodegradable diapers. Biodegradability in this case usually implies that diapers are made of more sustainable materials that can be broken down by bacteria or fungi naturally. The most commonly used biodegradable diaper material is bamboo, the same as cloth ones.

Compostable diapers are diapers, biodegradable under a specific set of conditions.

However, they are generally made of the same natural materials as regular biodegradable diapers.

Most bamboo diapers biodegrade in soil in a matter of weeks. It’s also possible to compost diapers made of bamboo. Some sustainable brands, like DYPER and Eco Pea, offer special programs to recycle diapers more effectively. For an additional pay, they ship used nappies to their diaper composting facility.

Several disposable diaper brands employ this tactic to produce their eco-friendly diapers. These companies include Eco Pea, DYPER, and Moltex.

Hybrid diapers

These diapers combine the outer cloth shell and disposable inserts made from biodegradable materials. This way you can compost diapers’ core and reuse the shell.

That means hybrids are both more sustainable than biodegradable disposable diapers and prescribe significantly less effort than regular reusable diapers.

They also don’t require as much laundering as cloth diapers do and don’t need to be changed as often.

One of the brands producing hybrid diapers is Gro Via. They make their diapers free of chemicals with sustainably harvested wood pulp for diaper cores.

Conclusions

Reusable and recyclable diapers are the best option for the environment and your baby. They reduce the volume of waste in nature and protect babies against harmful chemicals that most disposable diapers contain.

In my opinion, no matter which eco-diaper version you prefer, choosing bamboo diapers is always a win. It further enhances your diapering endeavors and offers a range of undeniable benefits.

It keeps your baby healthy and more comfortable, as bamboo wicks moisture away from the skin, and prevents microbial growth and diaper rash. It’s hypoallergenic, lowers your carbon footprint, and helps the environment.

So my advice to anyone will be to use bamboo materials as it is the best of the natural alternatives.

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