Wall*E (Walmart Spoof??)

Today I took Joshua and his friend Braiden to see Wall*E, the new Disney/Pixar movie. We all left agreeing it was a bit slow but enjoyable. It is a very earth-friendly show, with a not-so-subtle message about all the garage we are creating and how it could take over. The "big business", named Buy N Large could easily be a spoof of Wal-Mart. Do you think there is any connection to the downfall of the world being too many people "BUYING LARGE?" and creating so much waste? And, the "clean up guy" being called Wall*E? Anyone else talk about going to "Wally-world"?? And his "co-star" if you will, Eve, first woman, pure earth??? So, that's my movie review, short and sweet. It was cute -- worth seeing, but not worth a second viewing unless it's on DVD.

It did remind me that we all have to do our part to keep our earth's landfills from continuing to fill up. To that end, our family has chosen to go CLOTH DIAPERS. I ordered them and they arrived today. Here are some reasons we are choosing this route:

ENVIRONMENTAL REASONS:

• In 1988, over 18 billion diapers were sold and consumed in the United States that year. Based on calculations it is estimated that 27.4 billion disposable diapers are consumed every year in the U.S.
• Over 92% of all single-use diapers end up in a landfill.
• In 1988, nearly $300 million dollars were spent annually just to discard disposable diapers.
• No one knows how long it takes for a disposable diaper to decompose, but it is estimated to be about 250-500 years, long after your children, grandchildren and great, great, great grandchildren will be gone.
• Disposable diapers are the third largest single consumer item in landfills, and represent about 4% of solid waste. In a house with a child in diapers, disposables make up 50% of household waste.
• The manufacture and use of disposable diapers amounts to 2.3 times more water wasted than cloth.
• Over 300 pounds of wood, 50 pounds of petroleum feed stocks and 20 pounds of chlorine are used to produce disposable diapers for one baby EACH YEAR.

HEALTH REASONS:

• Disposable diapers contain traces of Dioxin, an extremely toxic by-product of the paper-bleaching process. It is a carcinogenic chemical, listed by the EPA as the most toxic of all cancer-linked chemicals. It is banned in most countries, but not the U.S..
• Disposable diapers contain Tributyl-tin (TBT) - a toxic pollutant known to cause hormonal problems in humans and animals.
• Disposable diapers contain sodium polyacrylate, a type of super absorbent polymer (SAP), which becomes a gel-like substance when wet. A similar substance had been used in super-absorbency tampons until the early 1980s when it was revealed that the material increased the risk of toxic shock syndrome.

COSTS:

• The figure, of course, depends on the number of diaper changes a day and the age at toilet training. But assuming an average two and a half-year diapering period, and an average of eight to ten diaper changes a day (based on every hour for newborns, every two hours for toddlers) this translates to 7,000 to 9,000 diapers over the diapering period. At an average price of $.24 per disposable diaper (premium diapers cost closer to $.33 apiece), the price tag for disposable diapering is around $2,000.

Home diapering, on the other hand, can be done for as little as $400, or as much as $1,200, depending on the type of products you buy. (With what we plan to buy, it will be around $400). Figuring in detergents and energy costs of about $.60 per load, the average parent will spend well under $1,000--usually more like $500--for home diapering.

We anticipate saving around $1,000 in diapering expenses as well not adding diapers to the landfills of the earth AND not putting potentially harmful chemicals on Ellie's bum.

We have ordered 12 diapers initially. I think we'll get a few more right before we go to pick her up. We went with BumGenius. Another adoptive mom that just came home with her little one is using these and I got good feedback from her about them. They came in the mail today -- I have to say the company, CottonBabies are on the ball with their shipping department. We chose to go with the One Size variety and they will fit "The Princess" up to 35 pounds. They are the CUTEST things (for diapers, that is). I'm sure they won't be "so" cute when we are getting the "used" version of them. *smile*

Now, I'm not saying there won't be some occasions when we won't use disposables, but I think, overall, we are going to try to be as environmentally conscious as we can be.