How green is Disposable nappies?

Nappies

What goes into Disposable nappies

Disposable nappies are made of superabsorbent chemicals, paper pulp, plastics and adhesives, it takes roughly 1 cup of crude oil to make 1 disposable nappy. The liner or topsheet - made of polypropylene sits next to the baby's skin and protects against wetness. From this layer, fluids flow down through the pulp-based tissue layer and into the core. The core contains fluff pulp and SAP, an absorbent polymer to draw in and contain the baby's urine and faeces.

Chemical contamination

An idependent study showed that disposable nappies, bought by 95% of parents, led to 400,000 tonnes of waste dumped mainly at landfill sites. Most contamination come from the breakdown of plastics and superabsorbent chemicals.

Lifetime embodied energy

Using disposable nappies for one child in the first two and a half years of life will produce about 550kg of carbon dioxide. With an average lifespan from point of sale to disposal of two weeks and a return to earth time of up-to 500 years the carbon footprint of disposable nappies is very poor.

Recycling and material recovery

There is little or no use for soiled nappies so 90% end up in landfill (about 7 million a day in the UK) Some energy could be relised by incineration but that's about the only recycle potential possible. Most nappies disposed of into landfill will take 300-500 years to fully decompose.

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