From birth to toilet training each child will use approximately 5,700 disposable diapers. It takes 440-880 lbs. of fluff pulp and 286 lbs. of plastic (including packaging) per year to supply a single baby with disposables. They are the 3rd largest single product in the waste stream behind newspapers and beverage containers. In areas where paper, glass, tin cans etc. are collected for recycling, diapers make up an even larger portion of the garbage.

Landfill sites do not provide the conditions necessary for diapers to decompose. They are in effect "mummified" and retain their original weight volume and form. Human feces can contain harmful pathogens (for example, babies who have been vaccinated for polio will excrete poliovirus) when feces is discarded with disposable diapers there is potential for public exposure (via rodents, pets, flies or birds).

Single use disposable diapers use 37% more water than home laundered. Disposables appear to produce less sewage because in them, human waste goes to dump sites. This practice violates World Health Organization guidelines and is technically illegal. Washing cloth diapers at home uses 50-70 gal. of water every three days. For perspective, a toilet-trained person, flushing the toilet 5-6 times a day, also uses 70 gal. of water every three days. Wastewater from washing cloth diapers is relatively benign while the wastewater from pulp, paper and plastics contain solvents, sludge, heavy metals, unreacted polymers, dioxins and furans. The potential environmental impacts of the disposal of these materials are considerable.

Being informed and including environmental considerations into our decision making is essential to preserving a healthy earth for future generations.