There are many types of disposable diapers available in today’s market for our convenience-conscious society; while concern over landfill space has pushed for “greener” alternatives, disposable diapers are still disposable.
Disposable diapers promoted by manufacturers as all-natural, earth-friendly, plastic-free, chlorine-free, and even at times, compostable, are filling up landfills.
A disposable diaper with a plastic exterior lining is no different than a 100% plastic-free disposable diaper once it has been tossed into a plastic household trash bag and dumped into a landfill.
Plastic is plastic.
Do Disposable Diapers Take 500 Years to Biodegrade?
Cloth diaper advocates often write about the length of time it takes for a disposable diaper to break down within a landfill; 500 years seems to be the most frequently cited time frame.
Since disposable diapers have not been in existence for 500 years, this is obviously a projection, but based on what evidence? There simply is no firsthand evidence of the decomposition rate of disposable diapers.
Juliet Lapidos describes how scientists estimate the length of time it takes trash to decompose.
“To make long-term estimates of this sort, scientists often use respirometry tests. The experimenters place a solid waste sample…in a vessel containing microbe-rich compost, then aerate the mixture. Oer the course of several days, microorganisms assimilate the sample bit by bit and produce carbon dioxide; the resultant carbon dioxide level serves as an indicator of degradation.” (1)
Lapidos goes on to explain how Respirometry tests are effective for products like newspapers and banana peels, but not plastic bags. Plastic bags are synthetic and not recognized as food by the microorganisms trying to “eat” them.
In other words, plastic cannot biodegrade.
Photodegrade, Not Biodegrade
Standard, polyethylene (plastic) bags cannot biodegrade, but instead, they are promoted as photodegradable.
“When exposed to ultraviolet radiation from sunlight, polyethylene’s polymer chains become brittle and start to crack. This suggests that plastic bags will eventually fragment into microscopic granules. As of yet, however, scientists aren’t sure how many centuries it takes for the sun to work its magic.” (1)
Plastic requires the sun to photodegrade. If it is able to photodegrade, the polymer molecules become small, microscopic bits of inorganic toxins (2).
While some news sources say this could take 500 years to decay, others project 1,000 years.
And again, that is with sun exposure.
A disposable diaper, all-natural or not, placed in a plastic bag and dumped in a landfill does not get the necessary exposure to ultra-violet light it needs to photodegrade.
It sits there – with all the other inorganic and organic trash.
Biodegradable Plastic Bags
The biodegradable “plastic” bags made using natural materials like cornstarch are said to be renewable, energy efficient, and emit less greenhouse gases, but even if they manage to breakdown buried in a landfill, will their contents?
“‘Typically in landfills, there’s not much dirt, very little oxygen, and few if any microorganisms,’ says green consumer advocate and author Debra Lynn Dadd. She cites a landfill study conducted by University of Arizona researchers that uncovered still-recognizable 25-year-old hot dogs, corncobs and grapes in landfills, as well as 50-year-old newspapers that were still readable.” (3)
If an organic substance has difficulty biodegrading, then an inorganic, synthetic disposable diaper is going to sit for a long time.
Cloth Diapers are NOT DISPOSABLE.
Landfills are a concern, and when it comes to diapering, cloth diapers are the best answer. Reduce impact by reducing personal waste; diaper your child with cloth and re-use the diapers over and over again.
Read between the lines. Just because a product is advertised as “…okay to toss” because it is “biodegradable” does not mean it will biodegrade; it means it “can” under the right circumstances.
And landfills?
They don’t offer the right circumstances.
Sources
1. Lapidos, Juliet. “Will My Plastic Bag Still Be Here in 2507? How scientists figure out how long it takes your trash to decompose.” Slate 27 June 2007.
http://www.slate.com/id/2169287/
2. Ransford, Matt. “New Plastic Bags Biodegrade in Four Months” Popular Science 17 April 2008.
http://www.popsci.com/environment/article/2008-04/biodegradable-plastics
3. Staff, infoZine. “EarthTalk: Does Anything Biodegrade in a Landfill?” Kansas City infoZine, 13 September 2006.
https://www.infozine.com/news/stories/op/storiesView/sid/17662
Bryana is the owner of 
Becca is a part-time Spanish Teacher and part-time Stay-At-Home-Mom. She's a cloth diaper expert who enjoys spending time with her family, crafting and selling her wares in her very own
Julie is a mom to three kids including a set of identical twins. Through cloth diapering her twins she developed a passion for the industry and is an avid cloth diaper advocate. You can also find her on her blog
Throw away is throw away. Still a landfill issue. Honestly, cloth diapers are not that hard. The only thing different you do is wash them and reuse them. Some might say, well the stinkies are easier in a disposable. Yes, if you break the law and throw them in the trash they are. However, if you abide by the law and dump the waste into the toilet and flush like you are supposed to do, then how much harder is it to toss your diaper into a washable pail liner and wash every couple of days?! If you are a mom to kids in diapers, you are doing lots of laundry any which way you look at it. Whats a couple of extra loads a week? I get disposables when vacationing and on the road a lot, but not for normal, everyday life.
I am a mother of 6 and have used cloth diapers with all, some say I am obsessed and perhaps that it true. You make a great point here and I’d like to add also that not only is it so easy to care for cloth diapers as soon as you find your own system of doing so but it’s so cost effective. I buy all kinds of cloth diapers, i love fuzzi bunz but use fitteds with covers as well, the great thing is that when I am done using the diapers I then sell them and use the money for the next size up. Now I have been doing this for years and I am now on my last baby and I am keeping tabs on what I spend and what I make on all the cloth diapers I use, when I’m done I will know what it cost me total to cloth diaper my baby. So far I am sitting on $600 in cloth diapers, wipes, covers and what not, I estimate that I will make at least $400 selling the stash off. So imagine only spending $200 in all to diaper your baby from newborn to potty training. Disposable diapers cost on average $2400 over a 3 year period, not including wipes.
I’m wondering about daycare though, most won’t allow cloth diapers. Then don’t cloth diapers leek, your not talking a few extra loads a week it would be more like 4 extra loads of laundry a week when you add in your clothes and babies. then your going to have to clean the furniture, carpet and what not. Yes we have wall to wall carpeting I didn’t grow up with that much carpet and never understood why anyone needed it. Damp sweeping the floor is much easier than vacuuming everyday.
I have used both disposable and cloth diapers and in my experience, disposables have leaked so much more than cloth. Using cloth diapers has actually saved me at least a couple of loads of laundry during the week. With cloth I was usually twice a week and with on a nearly daily basis of diaper poo-splosions with the disposable I was having do do my baby’s laundry nearly everyday. So, not only has cloth diapering lessened what I throw in the trash, it has also helped our budget AND water and electric/gas bill.
Can you get me a graph of how much room do disposable diapers take up in landfills increased? !!!ASAP!!!
Thanks,
Breanna
Breanna – No, I’m sorry we don’t have a graph with that breakdown.
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