| Think that cute innocent face isn't contributing to Global | | | | landfill. |
| Warming? Your baby's environmental footprint could | | | | - According to Choice consumer magazine, 95 per |
| be a lot bigger than you can fit into those adorable | | | | cent of Australian babies wore disposable nappies in |
| booties. | | | | 2007. In China, only 6 per cent do; in India, 2 per cent. |
| Consider this: | | | | - It takes over 10 full sized trees to produce the |
| - An infant to toddler aged child will increase your | | | | number of nappies your baby will use in its first couple |
| water usage by 60-100 gallons (227 to 379 litres) per | | | | of years. |
| day. | | | | - The production of a single disposable nappy requires |
| - An average household's gross garbage weight | | | | 2/3 of a cup of petroleum. This adds over 3 billion |
| increases 30-70 per cent with a new baby. And it can | | | | gallons (1134 billion liters of oil) per year dedicated to |
| stay that way for a few years. | | | | disposable nappy production. |
| - A baby's added usage can increase your | | | | However, when it comes to re-usable nappies, |
| household's power consumption by over 60 per cent. | | | | Australia's water restrictions and dry climate might not |
| The Dirty Lowdown on Disposable Nappies | | | | be ideal for heavy laundering practices. A controversial |
| The nappy question is a big one. Consider these | | | | UK study revealed that the environmental footprint of |
| sizable facts on disposable nappies: | | | | cloth nappies could actually be greater than |
| - Nappies are the third most common item, by volume | | | | disposables. |
| and weight, in American, UK, European, Japanese and | | | | Fortunately, modern nappies provide you with a range |
| Australian landfills. | | | | of choices, including nappy liners that can be |
| - A disposable nappy could take up to 400 years to | | | | composted and disposables that are plastics free. |
| break down - this means every single disposable | | | | Statistics are from carbon-balanced-baby. |
| nappy that has ever been manufactured is still sitting in | | | | |