Diapers Q&A
do you rinse out your disposable diapers? did you know that it's technically illegal NOT to?
"the World Health Organization guidelines are being violated whenever human waste goes into the landfills. So, technically putting diapers into the trash without cleansing them is ILLEGAL." the EPA notes that " . . . a significant portion of the disposable diaper waste dumped in American's landfills every year is actually biodegradable human waste preserved forever." "American Academy of Pediatrics and The American Public Health Association advise that fecal matter and urine should not be allowed to be disposed of together in the regular trash, because it contaminates the ground water and spreads disease " "landfills contain 5 million tons of untreated human waste - a breeding ground for diseases that could potentially contaminate our groundwater. When you toss a disposable into the dumpster you are adding to the 84 million lbs. of raw fecal matter going to the environment per year. The Lehrburger report mentioned above also suggested that disposable diapers may represent a health risk at landfill sites and recommends that state health officials determine if diapers should be classified as infectious waste because of the untreated feces and urine they contain. There are an estimated 100 intestinal viruses living on the feces in landfills and these viruses are also possible contaminates of our water supplies and could latch on to the insects that would bring these diseases back to us." Just wondering how many people are actually aware of this… I just learned it myself. Anyone else ever hear about this? Anyone else concerned?? i'm concerned, i mean, it's filling up our landfills with a biohazard that spreads disease & contaminates our water... i'm not very comfortable with that! OH, and the package instructions say to flush the soiled part, & not to put it in the trash. this is why. i do plan to do cloth diapers, it was originally my plan to save money, and now this reinforces it :) the WHO is not the only place that says it's not allowed. fecal matter (of any kind) is not to be dumped in land fills, they're known as "human health hazards". if you think it's "looney" to worry about the spread of disease & the contamination of ground water, well, i'd say that says a lot more about you. SARAH- look at them again, i read the instructions off the side of the package myself. i think it was Huggies. my friends have noticed them too--in fact it was pointed out to me by one of my friends. and sewage goes to a treatment plant where the diseases are killed, and it's seperated from the ground water. yes, i have looked into that. LIL_PUMPKIN- it's actually up to 500 yrs, according to this site... http://www.changingwaysdiapers.com/cloth_vs.htm but i've seen different figures. it depends on the state of the diaper, tightly rolled around waste, only the outer, non-biodegradable part is exposed, so it takes longer. if it were open they'd decompose much faster. oh dear! i forgot to put the link to my original facts: http://www.diaperpin.com/clothdiapers/article_diaperdrama4.asp Jenadee-it's not the smell that i'm talking about, it's scentless, invisible pathogens getting into the water & infecting people with Hepatitis B & the like. but i'm sure there is a lot MORE that really shouldn't be thrown in a landfill than just diapers.
Public Comments
- if you are concerned why not go to cloth diapers which can be washed and reused.. in many larger citys even have diaper service which pick up your dirtys and leave you fresh clean ones .... just a thought
- Thanks for sharing.. no, I wasn't aware of it. They do have those flushable diapers now, but I tried them and they clogged my toilet every time I flushed one. Maybe the government can come out and make our sewer systems equipt to take flushable diapers to help out our landfill situation. Actually, I read that disposable diapers take 200 years to disintigrate! Crazy! It's hard to believe all of those diapers out there in our landfills. Yikes.
- That's news to me. Obviously I didn't read the packaging very closely. My kids are all out of diapers now, but it's interesting to know. Thanks for sharing.
- i cloth diaper .......and i can't believe the ppl in here trying to make YOU feel the nutso for caring ....the rest of your a ssholes can go @#$%$ yourselves and your consumeristic households!!! truly ..modern day selfish wasteful ppl make me sick
