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  • From: Lynn Wigglesworth <lynnw1366 AT hotmail.com>
  • To: <homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Homestead] Disposable "nappies" greener than cloth
  • Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2008 22:35:50 -0400


They don't say how they calculated the 'footprint' of each type. I
wonder if they considered the millions and millions of disposable
diapers that will be in landfills forever? My youngest is 13 and I'm
still using the cloth diapers as rags.

Lynn Wigglesworth

Warren wrote:
> With younger brothers in the house, I grew up with cloth diapers soaking in
> bleach. I detested them so much we used disposables on our kids. Turns out
> that was the responsible path:
>
> "Blow to image of 'green' reusable nappy
> Marie Woolf, Whitehall Editor
>
> A government report that found old-fashioned reusable nappies damage the
> environment more than disposables has been hushed up because ministers are
> embarrassed by its findings.
>
> The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has
> instructed civil servants not to publicise the conclusions of the ?50,000
> nappy research project and to adopt a "defensive" stance towards its
> conclusions.
>
> The report found that using washable nappies, hailed by councils throughout
> Britain as a key way of saving the planet, have a higher carbon footprint
> than their disposable equivalents unless parents adopt an extreme approach
> to laundering them.
>
> To reduce the impact of cloth nappies on climate change parents would have
> to hang wet nappies out to dry all year round, keep them for years for use
> on younger children, and make sure the water in their washing machines does
> not exceed 60C.
>
> The conclusions will upset proponents of real nappies who have claimed they
> can help save the planet.
>
> Restricted Whitehall documents, seen by The Sunday Times, show that the
> government is so concerned by the "negative laundry options" outlined in the
> report, it has told its media managers not to give its conclusions any
> publicity.
>
> The report found that while disposable nappies used over 2? years would have
> a global warming , impact of 550kg of CO2 reusable nappies produced 570kg of
> CO2 on average. But if parents used tumble dryers and washed the reusable
> nappies at 90C, the impact could spiral to . 993kg of CO2 A Defra spokesman
> said the government was shelving plans for future research on nappies. "
>
> source http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article4969413.ece
>
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