Down In The Dumps

Let's talk about diapers - no not yours, baby diapers.

For years disposable diapers have been slagged as environmentally unfriendly. Friends of the earth, went the line, chose traditional, cloth, reusable nappies. Turns out that, from an environmental perspective, you can take your pick.

The Brits (who else?) have just completed a four-year study of the relative merits/demerits of disposable versus reusable baby bum wraps and their finding is - it's a draw!

In response to a parliamentary question, health minister Ben Bradshaw, a former environment minister, told the Commons: "Reusable nappies may reduce demands on landfill but they still impact on the environment in other ways such as water and energy used in washing and drying them."

But traditionalists aren't stopping there. At www.tinygem.ca/cloth-vs-disposables.shtml there is more, much more. Their figures claim that disposables for an average baby will total about $2,500 compared to about $833 if you use cloth and wash your own.