- Target:
- The United States Government
- Region:
- United States of America
- Website:
- www.realdiaperassociation.org
In 1988, over 18 billion diapers were sold and consumed in the United States that year. Disposable manufacturers say energy usage is the same for cloth or disposables, but the fact is that throwaways use five times more energy than reusable.
*The instructions on a disposable diaper package advise that all fecal matter should be deposited in the toilet before discarding, yet less than one half of one percent of all waste from single-use diapers goes into the sewage system.
* 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.
In 1988, nearly $300 million dollars were spent annually just to discard disposable diapers, whereas cotton diapers are reused 50 to 200 times before being turned into rags.
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.
Disposable diapers generate sixty times more solid waste and use twenty times more raw materials, like crude oil and wood pulp.
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 feedstocks and 20 pounds of chlorine are used to produce disposable diapers for one baby EACH YEAR.
To the United States Government
We, the undersigned residents of the United States of America, draw attention of the Government to the following:
THAT every US citizen that has a baby in diapers can make a significant environmental change by using cloth diapers;
THAT according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, 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 US 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 the US Government 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 the US Government 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.
You can further help this campaign by sponsoring it
The Support a Tax Write-Off for Cloth Diapering Families petition to The United States Government was written by Michelle and is in the category Environment at GoPetition.