Are biodegradable diapers better for the environment?

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asked Apr 25, 2022 in Toddler/Preschooler by J8huse (700 points)
Are biodegradable diapers better for the environment?

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answered Apr 27, 2022 by Dolcevita (8,460 points)
Biodegradable diapers are somewhat better for the environment but not 100 percent better for the environment.

Disposable diapers still are made from plastics even when they are biodegradable so the plastic takes awhile to biodegrade and break down.

But the biodegradable diapers don't contain as many chemicals as other diapers do which also means they are safer.

It's important to dispose of soiled diapers properly for sanitary reasons and for preventing the spread of bacteria.

If a diaper is soiled the diaper should be wrapped up and then disposed of in the trash can and not left on the ground, or where someone could step in it.

It's recommended although not required to dump the poop from a diaper into the toilet.

I've always just wrapped up the poopy diaper and then thrown it in the trash.

I've seen some people throw disposable diapers on the ground but that should not be done as it's littering and not good to do either way.

Always dispose of the diaper in the trash or if there's no trash can place it in a bag and bring it home or drop it off at a gas station trash can.

The percentage of landfills that are diapers is 7 to 8 percent.

Although diapers are disposed of by the millions daily and yearly and end up in landfills, only around 7 to 8 percent of the landfill waste consist of diapers.

The rest is food waste, sometimes electronic waste, plastics and other trash we produce.

Before potty training a kid will use around 5,000 to 6,000 disposable diapers.

Diapers do eventually decompose but because diapers are made of plastic for the shell of the diaper it cannot decompose for several years.

Although new disposable diapers claim to be cloth and breathable they really are not breathable and only have a cloth backed covering.

The cloth covering is a thin piece of cloth material that is glued to the other part of the plastic of the diaper.

You can sometimes remove the cloth cover from some disposable diapers and it will have a plastic backing to it.

The diaper has to be made of plastic so that the diaper holds the pee in or the diaper would leak.

Plastic that the diapers are made of is the same type of plastic that most plastic bags are made up.

The plastic bag and the plastic diaper will eventually decompose but it takes several hundred years for the diaper to decompose.

Some types of diapers can be composted completely while others require the SAP to just be removed to compost.

To compost diapers they must be ripped apart or shredded up in a machine.

The diaper cannot just be placed into a compost pile as a whole diaper or it won't break down properly.

In most other disposable diapers that are not composting type diapers you can rip open the disposable diaper and compost the SAP in the diaper.

Then throw the plastic part of the diaper away.

Diapers that are advertised as composting diapers can be composted by tearing the diaper up or shredding the diaper up and placing all the diaper parts in the compost pile.

The diaper needs to be ripped apart or shredded for the diaper to compost properly.

You can also just bury the entire diaper in the ground if you have no trash service.

Or place the diaper in a burn pit or burn barrel and with a hot enough fire the diaper can eventually burn although it may take a few fires for the diapers to burn.

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