MadSci Network: Environment & Ecology |
The first biodegradable diapers contained plastic mixed with starch so that bacteria would degrade the starch and leave much smaller bits of plastic behind. In any case, plastic does not make up the majority of a diaper’s volume, so that with or without biodegradeables, diapers continue to make up 2% of our total solid waste in landfills.(Handy Science Answer Book. Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. 1994) Japanese nonwovens producer Shinwa and Kanebo Gohsen have jointly developed Haibon, a biodegradable nonwoven made with polylactic acid resin...( http://www.technical-textiles.net/technical-textiles- index/htm/o996m3a.htm), but I don’t have access to the full article, so I can't say whether this is a viable solution. Cleaning cloth diapers is terribly inconvenient for consumers and it still consumes energy ( machine and hot water) and detergents. But it reduces the risk of groundwater contamination from landfills containing human waste. Did I use them for my kids? Yeah for about a week.
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