Study Shows No Environmental Difference Between Reusable and Disposable Diapers

For years, parents have been made to feel guilty about their use of disposable diapers. These were vilified and claimed to be very bad for the environment. Washable, cloth diapers were supposed to be very much better. Untrue, says a British 4-year study.

A four-year study by the British Environment Agency has shown that cloth and disposable diapers have exactly the same environmental footprint. Disposable diapers are normally buried in landfills and it turns out that the energy required, and the greenhouse gases produced are essentially the same as that which is required for or created by washing cloth nappies, either at home or at laundries. So now, parents can make guilt-free choices, based on personal preference, cost and convenience. Maybe this will open the door to the objective study of other disposable discussions, such as reusable bottles versus disposable ones, plastic shopping bags at grocery stores and many others.