When it comes to making changes in your lifestyle for the sake of the environment, it’s easy to become discouraged. Honestly, how big of a difference can just one person make by changing her light bulbs or using reusable grocery bags or driving less? When I think about the lifestyle changes my family has made for the environment, I often feel glad that we have, but also feel like how much can one family help?
In 2005, I started using cloth diapers on my first child. Using cloth diapers has been a very tangible way for me to feel like I’m helping the environment. It’s something my child uses daily, something we use a lot of, and something that takes up a decent amount of space in the trash (if you use disposables). In fact, most estimates are that a child will use at least 5000 diapers before he is potty trained (estimates are actually closer to 6000, but for my calculations, I prefer to be conservative. 8 diapers a day for 2 years = 5840. But remember that most children don’t potty train completely by their 2nd birthday). Imagine how much space 5000 disposable diapers would take up in your living room.
So when I started using cloth, I was really proud of myself. It really felt like a decision that would have an actual impact. Especially when some of my friends and neighbors converted to cloth and when my 2nd child was born.
Let me run some rough numbers for fun. I can think of three friends of mine that use cloth full-time, two that have recently switched, and four moms from my chatboard that switched around the time that I started using cloth (not that I was the sole reason they switched. But for the sake of argument, I’m assuming that they would have not started using cloth had they not had a friend like me to help them see that today’s cloth diapers are nothing like your grandmother’s). And many of these moms are using their cloth diapers on multiple children. And convincing friends of theirs to switch as well.
What this all translates into is that really, my family’s decision to use cloth diapers didn’t only save 5000 diapers from landfills. The number is more like 66,000, when you take into account all the friends who switched and the multiple children they have. And that doesn’t even include the friends and neighbors that they converted to cloth. I wish I knew more details about the amount of trees and water used to produce cloth diapers so that I could also calculate the savings there. But I’m pleased to know that one small comment by my husband in 2005 about how great it would be if we could use cloth diapers has translated into saving 66,000 disposable diapers from landfills. And on a side note, also saving us personally over $2000. Who says one person can’t make a difference?
