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One baby uses approximately 6935 nappies. Due to the plastic content, disposable nappies are not biodegradable.
Biodegradable disposable nappies which replace the plastic content with a biodegradable film are 70% degradable but tend to be expensive to produce and still need to be disposed of. The "poo" in nappies mixed together with household waste lets off a gas called methane which contributes to global warming.
Sanitary landfill sites are not designed or permitted to contain faeces and therefore have no solution to the growing number of dirty disposable nappies ending up at the dump. Basically "poo" belongs in the "loo"; which then goes through the sewerage system for downstream treatment.
| ENERGY & RESOURCE IMPACT STATISTICS: DISPOSABLES VS REUSABLES |
|---|
| Requires 3.5 x more energy to produce |
| Uses 8 x more non-regenerable raw materials |
| Uses 90 x more renewable material |
| Produces 2.3 x as much wastewater |
| Produces 60 x as much solid waste |
| Needs 4 – 30 x more land for growing natural materials |
In Britain: 8 million disposables are used every day. 7 million trees are felled and 14 thousand tons of plastic are produced every year to supply these nappies. As the practice of landfill disposal is becoming less acceptable and costly, many local municipal authorities in Britain are now considering offering families various incentives for using cloth nappies instead of disposables.
Cape Town is currently facing a major landfill airspace crisis. Two years ago 6 landfills were operational, and a few months from now we will have only 3 operational. Of the 3 landfills, Bellville will close in approximately 2013, Coastal Park in approximately 2022, and Vissershok in about 2017.
Household waste is increasing by a rate 4 - 5% higher than the growing population rate. The more affluent an area becomes the greater the amount of waste disposed of. In a family with one baby in nappies, disposable nappies account for half your household waste.
There are some smaller municipalities in the Western Cape with even bigger problems than Cape Town. Some will be closing in approximately 6 months' time with no alternative solution. The Johannesburg and Durban cities area also have a crisis at hand.