Green:it's a family affair

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saw this online (PA news) and thought it was great. Cotton vs. disposable diapers By far, the one area of parenting that has the biggest effect is what you put on baby's bottom. According to the national Real Diaper Association, an estimated 27.4 billion disposable diapers are thrown away each year in the United States, and disposable diapers are the third largest single item in landfills. It is estimated it could take 500 years for one disposable diaper to decompose. Switching to reusable cloth or flushable diapers for one child will prevent a whopping one ton of discarded diapers from ending up in landfills, Columbus says. The biggest criticism of cloth diapering is the mess and work involved, but Columbus says cloth diapering isn't difficult and saves a lot of money. Columbus says she uses washable cloths moistened with water to wipe Gaia. ''There's not much that's disposable in our house,'' she says. Parents also can keep a spray bottle of soapy water and a clean cloth near the changing table for easy cleanups ''I can't believe they're not more prevalent,'' she says. ''They're a little more work and you have to do more loads of laundry but using disposable diapers is disgusting to us.'' Columbus says she simply rinses the dirty diapers and washes them in the washing machine. ''If you rinse them they don't smell,'' she says. Disposable diapers are also expensive, costing between $11.99 and $16.99 for a package that may last only a few days. A cloth-diapered baby will use about 6 dozen diapers, costing around $300. However, it will cost $1,600 for the average child to spend two years in disposable diapers, and many children are still using diapers well past age 2. Even with laundering cloth diapers, which costs 3 cents per diaper, it only adds $120 for the entire time a baby's in diapers. According to The Real Diaper Association, Americans spend about $7 billion on disposable diapers every year. If all those families switched to cotton diapers, they would save more than $6 billion. One of the biggest arguments against cloth diapers is that the laundering required uses more energy and water and creates detergent-laden wastewater. However, a study cited by The Canadian Cloth Diaper Association found the manufacture of a single disposable diaper uses 37 percent more water and 70 percent more energy and creates more wastewater than the laundering of a cloth diaper. Cotton diapers are available in traditional cotton as well as organic cotton and other organic materials, with or without Velcro closures. Organic cotton, which is grown without pesticides or fertilizer, is a more earth-friendly option, as are diapers made from bamboo fiber and hemp, both of which are chemical-free. Flushable diapers are sort of a hybrid between disposable diapers and cloth diapers, but are environmentally friendly, says Michelle Schnoor of gDiapers, a recently introduced flushable diaper. With flushables, a biodegradable liner is worn in washable pants and can be flushed along with the human waste in the toilet, where it will be treated in the sewage system. Although the gDiapers are better for the environment, since they don't go into landfills, the cost is about the same as disposable diapers. Invented in the late 1970s, disposable baby wipes have become another perceived essential item for parents. Some diaper bags come with special compartments to store a plastic box to keep wipes moist. However, wipes use perfumes, detergents and preservatives, and add waste to landfills.