Diapers Diapers Everywhere!

Posted by Jon Winston 
 

You've got to admit that at first blush the idea of recycling baby's disposable diapers is a bit of a mind bender.   That is, until, you learn more about what it is, how it's done and why it means so much to the environment.   Ladies, gentlemen and diaper lovers of all ages, introducing EarthBaby, the worlds first environmentally friendly solution to the dirty diaper dilemma.

 

Earl Coutante introduced our guest speakers, Mark Siminoff and Karen Nelson, who just a scant 6 months ago launched EarthBaby to address a problem that most of us had no idea even existed, much less had an appreciation for it's severity. Consider a few facts:

  • Landfills everywhere, and particularly in the SF and Monterey Bay Areas are filling or already filled to capacity and one by one are closing down.  Trash is being trucked to more and more distant locations, at great expense.
  • After paper and beverage containers, disposable baby diapers are the 3rd largest contributors, by volume, to our landfills.
  • It's estimated that your typical dirty disposable diaper will take 200-300 years to decompose in the landfill.  I don't know about you, but that's not exactly what I had in mind for my lasting legacy to future generations!
  • The amount of energy and resources required to produce the plastic, super absorbent polymers and other constituents of disposable diapers is staggering.

So maybe cloth is a better idea?   Maybe not.  Self-washing cloth diapers (aside from the obvious hassle) adds polluting detergents and chlorine to the environment, not to mention consuming large volumes of water for the wash, and energy to run the dryer.   Diaper services alleviate some of the hassle, but use even more energy and water.

So, what to do?

Enter EarthBaby.  First of all, technically they're composting not recycling, although composting is arguably a highly efficient method of recycling.  Composting, in case you're wondering, is the natural aerobic bio-degradation of organic matter by yeast and other voracious microscopic critters resulting in a very nutrient rich and sterile soil amendment. The process requires an insignificant amount of energy input, produces zero methane, zero pollutants and is carbon neutral.   Sounds like an incredible 12th century solution to a 21st century problem, doesn't it?  Nice!

These clever folks have come up with a diaper that's made from a corn-based product called PLA that is 100% biodegradable.   EarthBaby provides a service whereby they deliver new diapers and take away the "loaded" units, similar to a traditional diaper service.  But that's where the similarity ends.  EarthBaby combines the used diapers with agricultural waste and under very strictly controlled conditions composts the waste in a mere 3 months to excellent, valuable top soil. 

It's a total winner for the planet!  

Judging by the unsolicited testimonial by Brent Dunton, a very satisfied EarthBaby customer, and the volume of probing and supportive questions posed by the membership, EarthBaby is onto to something really big... and really important.