Whether you believe in global warming caused by human activity like millions commuting from Port Perry real estate or the energy used by Toronto townhouses, or whether you believe that it is a natural phenomenon, the current debate over this issue has certainly forced us all to take a look at the ways in which our lifestyles affect our planet. One environmental issue that has never been up for debate is land use; the truth is that no more land is appearing (which explains the addition of hundreds of new Ajax condos). Every time we push the limits of a landfill it means land that no one will be able to use again for a long time. Moreover, a lot of the debris that is put into landfills all over the country takes centuries to be naturally absorbed into the environment, and even then we can't say for sure that it will decompose in a safe way, forcing us to look into lagoon cleaning and wastewater management chemicals.
Chief among those slow to decompose materials are plastics and other synthetic material, the chief ingredients in the makeup of disposable diapers. It is ironic that in an age where we are more focused on preserving the world for future generations than ever before, we are still clothing those generations in material that will harm their environment.
Babies will always need diapers, but disposables are only indispensable in terms of convenience. There are other alternatives out there, and the primary diaper choice of people going green is cloth diapers. The whole debate over cloth or disposable diapers as choices for the environment came up years ago, but some slick work by companies managed to gloss over some of the cold hard facts about disposables. Without question, cloth diapers are better for the environment in terms of land use; they don't get thrown out and even if they did, they decompose quite quickly. If you can't afford to exchange those Oakville homes for a home for sale in Rosedale to reduce your carbon footprint, this is another step in the right direction.
The upshot of the disposable argument against cloth diapers was that due to the use of water to wash them, and detergents and so on, cloth diapers were not really all that much better for the environment. This argument only made sense on the surface, with the amount of laundry you already do, there's not much more going through your water pumps; unfortunately, people were all too eager to buy the line of convenience.
Cloth diapers do not have any negative effects on the environment beyond what humans are already doing. The same is not true of disposables; just think of how many diapers you throw away every day, and then picture all of the residents of a place like Ling West condos doing so, and you realize just how much space those dirty diapers are taking up.
When it comes right down to it, the best choice for the environment, and therefore the future of your baby, is to go green and use cloth diapers.
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