Bottom line: the best way to divert disposable diapers from the waste stream is not to use them, and thankfully, cloth technology is more sophisiticated than ever.

From: Alternatives Journal | Date: January 1, 2006| Author: | Copyright information

IN AN AVERAGE YEAR Canadians throw away about four million used disposable diapers. Most of them end up in landfills where the untreated human waste can leach into and contaminate groundwater and where the diaper materials take an estimated 500 years to degrade.

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Despite the environmental downsides, over 90 percent of Canadian parents choose disposable over cloth diapers. The reason is convenience. In the 1980s, manufacturers began adding super-absorbent polymers to paper diapers, vastly increasing fluid retention. Companies have also developed a ...

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