Going green: paper towels and disposable diapers

[Ratty]

I was reading an article on 101 things you can do to "go green." Compared to the most people I'm extremely green already: I turn off the water when I soap up in the shower, don't air condition or heat my house, I recycle compulsively, but most of all I don't own or drive a car. Still I was interested in what I could do to be greener. I generate a lot of waste, I recycle it but there's still a lot of trash left over to carry out to the curb every week. I don't compost. I don't bring my own bags to the grocery store but I'm going to start doing so. And I use paper towels. Lots of paper towels. Gosh, it'd be hard to do without those.

I don't have babies but I was thinking how difficult it would be for new parents to do without disposable diapers. Man, talk about convenience and saving time. If I were a parent, especially if we both worked, I don't think it would be possible to do without disposable diapers. Plus, I do hate the poopy so. What do conscientious new parents do?

[AndyA]

1. I recycle as well, but it does seem like I also use a lot of paper towels.

What I try to do is only use a paper towel when necessary.

When washing hands, I have a dish towel that I change daily to dry my clean hands on. It air dries in a few minutes, and is ready to go again.

I wipe up messy spills with a sponge that also gets changed daily, then wipe the clean counter with another dish towel that I only use for that purpose. It also air dries and gets changed daily.

I do this to minimize the spread of bacteria and germs, and to limit the use of paper towels. The dish towels and sponges go into the washer with other items so I'm not using additional water to wash them.

I also just bought a new high efficiency front load washer and dryer. The washer only uses $9 worth of electricity a year, and uses minimal water compared to an older machine. The clothes spin at 1,300 rpm, so they are almost dry when they come out of the washer. A few minutes in the dryer, and they're done.

I'm still waiting to see the impact on my water and power bills since this purchase, but it should be considerable. I'm surprised at how little water the washer uses, and clothes come out much cleaner than they did before!

[Ratty]

6. That's a great idea!

The clothes spin at 1,300 rpm, so they are almost dry when they come out of the washer. A few minutes in the dryer, and they're done.

Oh, that's really good. I didn't consider that. The dryer is a HUGE waster. I do dry my clothes though I have put a clothesline and started using that for some things. Smells nicer anyway. I'd never heard of a washer with a spin cycle like that but it's a great idea.

[AndyA]

11. It's one of those new front loading washer/dryers.

They are expensive, but they are very quiet, you barely hear them running, and with the energy savings, they should pay for themselves within a couple of years.

The dryer is a huge user of energy. And even heavy, thick towels come out barely damp. I can completely dry a large load of thick towels in less than 20 minutes.

[gratefultobelib]

2. Sorry, but conscientious parents can use cloth diapers. I raised my four kids

that way, and we managed just fine. Side note--one daughter is now using cloth diapers "part time", having two kids in diapers and having to put out $40.00 a week on disposables. It's been fun "educating" her on how to manage with cloth! Yes, she works outside the home, and I take care of the little ones during the day.

[jwirr]

7. Yes, my three were raise in cloth also. In many areas there is a

diaper service that cleans them. HOWEVER, I would like to see the diaper manufacturers making a diaper that is truly biodegradable because when talking about diapers/pads we often forget that many elderly and disabled wear diapers also. They would not be so easy to put into cloth diapers.

I used cloth with my disabled daughter for 27 years, it is a smelly process and they do not even make cloth diapers big enough for an adult.

[gratefultobelib]

21. Well, I thought over my rather flippant reply, and of course, there are extenuating

circumstances! I'm sure many day care providers insist on disposable diapers, and like you mention, there are adult needs, too. I'm just appalled, though, at the way disposables have taken over. Have you tried to find training pants for toddlers?? Even they are disposable! I had to go to a "specialty store" to find cloth training pants!

[jwirr]

24. I know. It is a very big problem when the whole issue is in front of

us. My granddaughters were raised in cloth diapers because of the cost but their children are in disposables because they go to day care. Does anyone know what the manufacturers are doing to make them biodegradable? My father used to try to burn them - they won't even burn.

[grilled onions]

3. I Use El Cheapo Wash Rags

I buy them in bulk and have them in groups. One is for use as absorbing wet greens and the other group is for the heavy duty towel uses. According to their use I toss them in with my other laundry and I never have an added load but it sure cuts down on paper usage.

[InvisibleTouch]

4. A few years ago I visited a friend...

...who has 3 Dobermans and a toddler, and I was startled at how many paper towels she went through. One to wipe up every spilled drop, and even to dry bowls. One Christmas I sent her a set of nice kitchen towels. Not only is it better for the environment, but it ended up saving her a ton of money on paper towels - so everyone wins. She loves them and has been using them ever since.

I have to admit to using paper towels also, but very sparingly; it takes me weeks to finish a roll. I'm trying to switch over completely to sponges and cloths for clean-up. When cotton clothing and underwear wears out, it makes super clean-up rags - it just needs to be cut to a useful size.

As for diapers, I know my mother used mostly cloth diapers, but she was a stay-at-home mom, and I can see how it would be hard for parents who both work. There are services that pick up and launder cloth diapers, but the energy used in washing pretty-much evens out the energy used to produce plastic diapers. The big difference, of course, is the filling up of landfills. Perhaps the best solution would be biodegradable disposables. Since I don't exactly follow this topic, I don't know if there isn't something like that already...?

[Ratty]

9. I'm pretty sparing too I guess

One roll will last me a month. I guess maybe I don't have to feel so guilty about that one. I use a sponge and cloth towel mostly as well. It sounds like one of those things that can get out of control if you're not careful. Start using just a few paper towels, then next week it's a few more and before you know it you're going through rolls of the stuff like there's no tomorrow. I know I'm that way about showering. Sometimes when it's really cold (I don't heat my house, remember) I just don't have the stones to turn off the water when I soap up. So I keep the water running "just this once." But once you do it you feel just a little less guilty the next time. I know I've gotten out of the habit of turning of the water more than once and it will take some kind of guilt experience to make me start doing it again.

[InvisibleTouch]

22. I couldn't do without heat...

...but I never use air conditioning. Really I'm living in the wrong climate. If I could move south, I'd be comfortable and environmentally friendly in that regard.

[Ratty]

23. I live in California

The climate makes it possible for me to do without heat most of the time. It can get pretty cold but the thing is I don't like a heated house. It just feels stuffy and makes me uncomfortable. I prefer to dress warm and I love to sleep with tons of blankets. The weight is very cozy. I also live just a half hour's walk from work and the public transportation is pretty good so I don't have to drive. Plus I really hate driving anyway. I know most people in this country don't have the advantages I do. I'm green but I don't sacrifice very much so I was looking for ways that I could, you know, actually sacrifice.

[InvisibleTouch]

25. I don't think it's supposed to hurt. :)

It's just a matter of breaking in some new habits. Well, let's see ... you've probably switched out your lightbulbs already to fluorescents. I did that a few years ago. I also almost never use my dryer, except when I have a litter of puppies and I have a constant mountain of towels and blankets to wash. Even then, if I planned ahead a little bit, I could get around that. In the summer I hang laundry on a clothesline on the patio; in winter I have a folding stand in my basement to dry clothes on. I've already decided that when the dryer breaks, as it inevitably will, it's not getting replaced.

Eating organic and local makes a big difference too. Support for organic farming encourages more of the same, and of course eating local means your produce hasn't been shipped halfway around the world to reach you, at the expense of massive fuel costs and pollution. In California, I bet you have some great farmer's markets! :)

[Rosa Luxemburg]

5. hang clothes on a line or over the shower rail to dry

You can soak diapers one day in large pail, and wash the next. Once they're soaked you wash them like ordinary clothes. Yep it's a pain being green

Also you could do without paper towels - a sponge, rinse it out and soak it if it's really dirty!

(Food should be distributed more evenly. How many institutions and stores throw out tons of food that is not even past its sell by date. The Food Banks try hard but the government should make it compulsary to distribute food to the poor. I hate to see people take one bite out of a meal and throw it away!)

[donsu]

18. I bleach my sponges frequently - you can't leave the bleach on

except for a quick minute but it keeps the sponge clean and usable for a longer period of time.

[Saturday]

8. They have paper towels now

(I think they are Bounty) that are cut off every 6 inches rather than every 12 inches. I use them. That cuts the paper towel usage in 1/2. Most times just a 12 x 6 piece does the job I need to do.

[grasswire]

17. those smaller paper towels are great

they have made a huge difference in my home.

[SharonRB]

10. Here are some more ideas for saving energy

[stirlingsliver]

12. I Seldom Throw Cloth Away

It is very rare that I throw any fabric away.

Instead of paper towels, I used old cloth -- cut up and ready to use.

I wash them by hand, using rain water I collect in a rain barrel, and dry them on a line outside.

I do, however, heat my house. I live in an area where going without heat is just not an option.

[donsu]

13. paper diapers are a crime against the world

the damage done by killing the trees, causing pollution in the processing of the trees into the kind of paper used in the diapers, and the pollution caused when the dirty diapers are burned or placed in a land fill.

don't get me started on paper diapers.

and all the cleaning products made of paper. throw away toilet cleaners, throw away dusters, etc.

the paper companies didn't start all those forest fires for nothing. think of the bucks they are raking in on the new paper products. a list of these products would be very long.

[stirlingsliver]

15. What's The Figure?

It seems to me that I heard once that something like 40% of the volume of landfills came from disposable diapers that had been thrown away.

[karynnj]

14. John and Teresa Kerry speak of a better diaper in their new book

This moment on Earth highlights people who have succeeded working on environmental issues. One person they cover designed a diaper with a plastic outer layer that can be rinsed and reused and inner liners that can be flushed. (they decompose in 150 days)

He was at the Portland book signing and commented on the JohnKerry.com blog - if you click on the word gdiapers, you can see what they are. (He wrote in a comment - and you can click on his name to learn more on him).

I assume that it is more expensive at first to switch to these, but as my youngest is a teen, I have no idea how the cost of the inner liners compare to disposable diapers. This does seem a clever compromise.

http://blog.johnkerry.com/2007/04/john_and_teresa_heinz_kerry_at.html#comments

[colinmom71]

28. Just looked up those gDiapers and compared the per use cost...

And the flushable liners are considerably more expensive than disposable diapers. I compared their medium weight range liners with Huggies/Pampers size 3 since the weight allowances are similar - 13-26 pounds for Medium/Large liners to fill the Medium plastic "pant", and 16-28 pounds for the Huggies/Pampers size 3 diapers purchased through Drugstore.com (though prices may be more or less at various other retailers).

BTW, can you tell I'm bored? ;)

The gDiapers liners cost $.42 per liner refill pack (32 liners for $14.49), $.40 per liner when bought by the case (128 liners for $52.00). By the way, their pricing for the case of liners is deceptive. They claim the case purchase is a 10% savings, but the savings is really only 5% per liner. Also, the plastic "pants" are sold separately and cost $14.99 each, though a 3 pack is available for $33.00.

Using Drugstore.com's prices, the Huggies/Pampers size 3 "jumbo" pack is priced at $12.99 for 40 diapers, costing $.32 per diaper. The "bulk" size of the size 3 diapers is priced at $36.99 for 144 diapers, costing about $.26 per diaper.

The gDiaper is a nifty option and hopefully will catch on in popularity and help reduce the cost for parents of babies and roddlers. Unfortunately, it still doesn't help those of us with bigger disabled kids who need the disposable GoodNights and such. There just aren't a lot of viable options there...

[karynnj]

38. I'm impressed

They are quite a bit more expensive, but as you say if they caught on, economies of scale could bring the price down.

It might also be possible to argue for some kind of governmental subsidy to lower the price because it will reduce garbage costs substantially. (after all many states have energy star programs that give you a partial rebate on things like water heaters.)

[devilgrrl]

16. I reuse shopping bags and use hand towels instead of paper...

you can get them in bulk at costco.

[Iris]

19. I suppose to make the real difference, you'd have to hand-wash the diapers and hang them outside to

dry. Otherwise, the use of electricity would negate your imprint reduction.

Not to mention the detergent issue. . .

[Dervill Crow]

30. I used a diaper service.

Old hippie earth mama to now grown kids. I would hope the diaper services use energy-efficient equipment--that would be something to research.

[Iris]

31. yeah. Because businesses so often are concerned with the environment.

Don't mean to flame or be overly sarcastic, but just like Taverner said below, there's good points and bad to both methods. The fact is, if you have a child, you are contributing to the depletion of resources; that's just something you have to live with.

[Dervill Crow]

34. Well, this IS Portland, after all. LOL

They would go for cheap, after all. They might wash 300 diapers for the same amount of electricity that I would use for 30 at home. Just a thought.

[Iris]

35. That makes sense.

I see what you are saying - sort of a collective "making a full load"! ha! ha! Is that a sort of pun?

[Dervill Crow]

37. A very bad pun, which is the best kind of pun!

:rofl:

[Taverner]

20. It's actually a wash (no pun intended)

Cloth diapers take lots of heat to clean, as well as use lots of chlorine as well. We tried this at first, and it just wasn't possible.

And if you think you can wash diapers in cold water and biodegradable detergent, think again.

[LeftyMom]

26. It's easy enough if you use nice cloth diapers.

I'm a fan of these: http://www.fuzzibunz.com/fuzzi_details.php I think they work BETTER than any disposable I've ever tried, and they come in cute colors.

The poo-touching danger comes in wiping, not in diaper disposal/washing.

[orleans]

27. diaper link

http://www.kushies.com/Cataloque/catalogue.html

they look environmentally friendly (there is a lining you can buy for them that is flushable--i don't know if i would flush it...but...)

[LynneSin]

29. I tried using 'earth-friendly' paper towels

After one roll I switched back to my regular paper towels. The 'earth-friendly' ones were poorly made and not very absorbant when cleaning up a mess. It would take 3-4 of the 'earth-friendly' ones to 1 of my usual brand (Usually it's Bounty or Scotts).

I figured I was doing more wasting if it took me more paper towels to clean up the mess.

But I do try to find other ways to better the environment

[kestrel91316]

32. I don't use but maybe one roll of paper towels a year. I use cloth towels

and such. (at home - unfortunately at work paper towels are mandatory for infectious disease control purposes)

I don't use any diapers at all. In fact, I didn't do the kid thing in the first place. I didn't feel any great need to replace myself with one more hyperconsumer. There's no shortage of Americans to waste resources.

[gravity]

33. Cloth diapers and towels aren't 100% environmentally friendly either

They require soap, hot water, washing machines, and creates sewage. You can hand wash using cold water, but that could take a while and might not get the towels and diapers that clean.

I don't know which if using cloth towels instead of paper is more environmentally friendly than the other. Both have their costs and benefits.

[piedmont]

36. Replacing paper towels was easy for us...

We keep around 30 or so white terry-cloth hand towels, approx. 10" x 10", in a drawer in the kitchen, all nice and folded and ready to use. When we would otherwise use a paper towel, we use the cloth instead, and just wash them when we get a pile of dirties. We very occasionally use a paper towel for things that wouldn't wash out of the cloth towels very easily.

[SoCalDem]

39. I cannot remember the last time I even bought paper towels

and i DID use cloth diapers.. Not because I was especially "green".. I just loved the fresh diaper smell, and since I was doing laundry all day every day, it seemed like the thing to do..

Back then '73, '77 & '78, the disposables were pretty awful though, so the choice was pretty easy.:evilgrin:

I have a ton of kitchen towels & use them instead of paper towels..

[Yavin4]

40. I Need My Hot Showers

Look, I don't drive a car, and I don't own one as well. I take public transportation every day. Let me have my showers and my AC.

[Bridget Burke]

41. Here in Houston, heating is rarely a problem.

But life would be impossible without AC. (Maybe we should all move to Cool California?)

But I commute via Houston Metro. We should all do what we can, but nobody's perfect.

No kids--because no guy ever convinced me to become the mother of his children. Brought up fatherless & mostly responsible for my mother at the end of her life, I never had the urge to become a single mother. But it wasn't an ecological decision.