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Give families a tax break for using cloth diapers |
1024 Signatures |
Published by HappyNappy on May 16, 2009
Category: Environment
Region: Canada
Target: Families with children in diapers
Web site: http://www.happynappy.ca/Environmental
Background (Preamble):
Inaccurate and Misleading Information from Disposables Manufacturers
* It's the late 1980's, people are becoming concerned about the environment. Disposables are on the decline. The disposables manufacturers fight back. Articles and advertisements say disposables are OK. Many mothers, glad to hear that and relieved of guilt, switch to disposables. Disposables manufacturers say energy usage is the same for cloth or disposables, but the fact is that throwaways use five times more energy than reusables.
* About 5 million tons of untreated body excrement, which may carry over 100 intestinal viruses, is brought to landfills via disposables. This may contribute to groundwater contamination and attract insects that carry and transmit diseases. In 1990, 18 billion disposables were thrown into United States landfills.
Is it wise to use 3.4 billion gallons of oil and over 250,000 trees a year to manufacture disposables that end up in our already overburdened landfills? These disposables are not readily biodegradable. The paper must be exposed to air and sun to decompose. Thirty percent of a disposable diaper is plastic and is not compostable. Even if the rest of the diaper could be composted, these plants could only handle 400 of the 10,000 tons of diapers tossed in landfills EACH DAY, assuming they didn't have to process any other compostable garbage.
Biodegradable diapers have cornstarch added to the plastic to break it into tiny pieces. The pieces still end up in landfills.
* It's the late 1980's, people are becoming concerned about the environment. Disposables are on the decline. The disposables manufacturers fight back. Articles and advertisements say disposables are OK. Many mothers, glad to hear that and relieved of guilt, switch to disposables. Disposables manufacturers say energy usage is the same for cloth or disposables, but the fact is that throwaways use five times more energy than reusables.
* About 5 million tons of untreated body excrement, which may carry over 100 intestinal viruses, is brought to landfills via disposables. This may contribute to groundwater contamination and attract insects that carry and transmit diseases. In 1990, 18 billion disposables were thrown into United States landfills.
Is it wise to use 3.4 billion gallons of oil and over 250,000 trees a year to manufacture disposables that end up in our already overburdened landfills? These disposables are not readily biodegradable. The paper must be exposed to air and sun to decompose. Thirty percent of a disposable diaper is plastic and is not compostable. Even if the rest of the diaper could be composted, these plants could only handle 400 of the 10,000 tons of diapers tossed in landfills EACH DAY, assuming they didn't have to process any other compostable garbage.
Biodegradable diapers have cornstarch added to the plastic to break it into tiny pieces. The pieces still end up in landfills.
Petition:
To the House of Commons in Parliament Assembled
We, the undersigned residents of Canada, draw attention of the House to the following:
THAT every Canadian citizen that has a baby in diapers can make a significant environmental change by using cloth diapers;
THAT according to Environmental Canada, once in landfill sites-which are not designed to handle human waste-single use-diapers threaten the health of sanitary workers, water supplies and our wildlife;
THAT about 5 million tons of untreated body excrement, which may carry over 100 intestinal viruses, is brought to landfills via disposables;
THAT in 1990, 7 billion disposables were thrown into Canadian landfills;
THAT 3.4 billion gallons of oil and over 250,000 trees a year to manufacture disposables that end up in our already overburdened landfills; and
THEREFORE, your petitioners call upon Parliament to ensure that instead of paying for more land fills through taxpayers’ dollars, that a tax credit is granted to all families who can show a receipt for the use of cloth diapers and/ or diaper service.
We further call upon Parliament to increase the taxes on single use diapers to off set the rebates and to recognize that by population, diapers make up the 3rd largest contributor to landfills.
We, the undersigned residents of Canada, draw attention of the House to the following:
THAT every Canadian citizen that has a baby in diapers can make a significant environmental change by using cloth diapers;
THAT according to Environmental Canada, once in landfill sites-which are not designed to handle human waste-single use-diapers threaten the health of sanitary workers, water supplies and our wildlife;
THAT about 5 million tons of untreated body excrement, which may carry over 100 intestinal viruses, is brought to landfills via disposables;
THAT in 1990, 7 billion disposables were thrown into Canadian landfills;
THAT 3.4 billion gallons of oil and over 250,000 trees a year to manufacture disposables that end up in our already overburdened landfills; and
THEREFORE, your petitioners call upon Parliament to ensure that instead of paying for more land fills through taxpayers’ dollars, that a tax credit is granted to all families who can show a receipt for the use of cloth diapers and/ or diaper service.
We further call upon Parliament to increase the taxes on single use diapers to off set the rebates and to recognize that by population, diapers make up the 3rd largest contributor to landfills.
The Give families a tax break for using cloth diapers petition to Families with children in diapers was written by HappyNappy and is hosted free of charge at GoPetition. Contact author here.
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