How do disposable nappies affect the environment?
Like all products, cloth and disposable nappies both have environmental impacts. In 2005, a major independent study by the United Kingdom’s Environment Agency showed that the overall impacts of both products were about the same. This UK study considered all parts of each nappy’s life cycle in the UK: to manufacture, distribute, use, and dispose of the products. Although the amount of disposable nappies in US landfills was highly publicized a few years ago, this extensive study from the UK found that environmental impacts are also linked to the energy, water, and detergents needed to clean cloth nappies, and to raw material production for disposable nappies. Thus, considering the overall life cycle of both products, the study confirms that for the UK, there is little to no difference in environmental impact between cloth and disposable nappies. Although disposable nappies are not biodegradable, they account for less than 2% of the municipal solid waste stream and take up even less volum
