By the time the average North American child is toilet trained he or she may use as many as 5,000 diapers. If those diapers are disposable, each baby contributes about one ton of garbage to landfills before reaching the age of two.

Approximately 1.7 billion disposable diapers are produced, used, and discarded in Canadian landfills every year. In the US, the figures are staggering: 16 to 18 billion disposable diapers translates to 82,000 tons of plastic and 1.3 million tons of wood pulp from a quarter of a million trees. Convenience is indisputable, but can we afford the environmental impact?

The dope on disposables
If we stop to consider what disposable diapers are made of-a waterproof polyethylene plastic outer layer derived from oil, an inner fluffy layer made from wood pulp and sodium or potassium polyacrylate (superabsorbent crystals), and an oil-derived polypropylene permeable inner liner-is it any wonder environmentalists consider them an ecological disaster?

The manufacture of disposable diapers requires the use of non-renewable oil resources; huge amounts of water to make valuable wood pulp into non-recyclable paper; dioxin-producing chlorine gas (which has been associated with cancer, liver disease, birth defects, miscarriage, genetic damage, and immune-system depression in animal tests) to bleach the wood pulp; and dyes (which may damage the central nervous system, liver, and kidneys).

The issue of disposables in landfills has been growing since they were first introduced in the early 1960s. After newspapers and food and beverage containers, disposable diapers rank third as the largest single consumer item in landfills. Each year disposable diapers are responsible for tons of untreated human urine and feces carrying bacteria and viruses, along with plastics and paper being trucked into municipal landfills.

According to a 1999 study published in Archives of Environmental Health, chemicals released from throw-away diapers include toluene, xylene, ethylbenzene, styrene, and isopropylbenzene.

There are serious concerns of pathogens leaching out of discarded disposable diapers and contaminating water supplies. The World Health Organization has called for a stop to the inclusion of human excrement in solid waste, but these guidelines are not enforced or regulated.

Better bottom options
When compared to the traditional cloth diapers and safety pins, disposal diapers win for convenience and efficiency, hands down if we forget about the environmental impacts. However, new generations of cloth diapers offer a win-win alternative. The latest, environmentally-friendly versions feature body-hugging designs, no need for safety pins, and increased absorbency, which are many of the features that lure parents to use disposables. Unfortunately, less than 15 percent of North American parents use cloth diapers.

Cloth diapers are not without their own concerns. The major criticism by the disposable diaper manufacturers is the abundant use of pesticides in growing cotton and the significant amounts of water and electricity required to wash and dry them.

By choosing organic cotton diapers (yes, a bit more expensive than regular cloth diapers, but still cheaper than disposables in the long run), and by line-drying when possible, the environmental scales are tipped significantly in favour of non-disposables.

Employing a diaper service further reduces resources used to launder reusable diapers as commercial facilities use 21,000 litres of water for one child per year versus 34,000 litres for home laundering.

These are critical times for the health of our planet. Each time we make a mindful and informed choice, we make a contribution towards balance and sustainability- even if it's one diaper at a time.

Cathrine Gabriel worked in the natural health field for over 30 years. She is past administrator of HANS. Reader resource: www.borntolove.com