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It has a full LCA for both types, disposable and cloth. You didn't read far enough. There's a summarizing table at the end, comparing results of both. >We’re a
by beerandt 7y ago
It has a full LCA for both types, disposable and cloth. You didn't read far enough. There's a summarizing table at the end, comparing results of both.
>We’re already on our 3rd child
It's mostly in the washing, extended use gains you almost nothing.
Even the most generous LCA (not using hot water or a dryer, and only washing once per week) makes the impact almost equal.
>coal
Regardless of the energy source, 4x energy is 4x energy. If the grid is using wind power, the factory likely is as well.
Feel free to find an LCA that reflects your use case, but don't assume it's environmentally friendlier just because it's popular with a certain crowd.
Efficiencies of industrial scale can be hard to beat at home.
- 3fe9a03ccd14ca5 7y agoI totally get what you’re saying, and I’m surprised to see the data myself. However I think if you asked someone if it’s better to use more water (renewable) and power (clean) versus space in a landfill, I’m sure almost everyone would say that the former is the better option. People throw away a lot of diapers.
- beerandt 7y agoLandfill space isn't a problem though. And pulp is also renewable. Also, people don't realize it, but whatever gets flushed ends up in a landfill as well, in the form of wastewater sludge. In what ends up being a volume not all that less than a wrapped up diaper. So you're not avoiding landfill use. >almost everyone would say that the former is the better option. Who? Not environmental or sustainability engineers. Again, if cloth works for you, use it. There are plenty of good reasons to. It's just the environment isn't one of them.