Essay On Disposable Diapers

Diapers come in forms of rainbow colors. Every year, billions of diapers are sold and consumed. Vast majority of the diapers that are sold every year are disposable ones. Disposable diapers are convenient and a common consumer product, but they pose many environmental and health risks. They are biodegradable products and it takes about five months for them to decompose. The absorbent gels and plastic components of disposables however, take 500 years to decompose. It is reported that every year about 20 billion diapers are added to landfills. There they decompose in anaerobic (oxygen poor) environment and result in higher level greenhouse gas emission, primarily methane. Disposable diapers also pose risks to human health. They can also contaminate ground water if they are added into landfills as untreated waste. Many viruses may end up being leaked into local water supplies through the excreted baby feces. Disposable diapers are a growing problem as they have so small as to be not worth considering recycling rate.

There has always been a spate of discussion between cloth and disposable diapers. Cloth diapers are labeled as ecofriendly by their advocates. In a sense they are. The numbers of reusable diapers being thrown away are far less than the single time usable diapers. But, cloth diapers need to be washed numerous times a day. The process of washing them requires the input of clean water and what comes out is dirty waste water. They also require an input of energy in cleaning and drying process. In this paper I will discuss the potential dangers that disposable diapers pose to the environment, to human health and compare them with cloth diapers.

This paper will discuss, in detail, the energy usage, air and water pollution, was...

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...nhouse gasses are produced. They contribute to the greenhouse gas accumulation such as methane and carbon dioxide.

Most of these disposable diapers are thrown away untreated. Although, it is prohibited by WHO to throw diapers into garbage with fecal matter, but the law is largely not implemented. This can lead to the spread of many dangerous viruses such as polio and hepatitis B. Also, they can provide a breeding ground for bacteria and viruses when they remain wet with urine for extended periods of time.

After analyzing everything, both disposable and reusable diapers require an enormous amount of input in their manufacturing. The decision of picking either type of diaper over the other should be made according to the environmental demands. If there is a shortage of landfills, pick cloth diapers. If there is a shortage of water, then, pick the disposable diapers.