The most cost-effective method to reduce the quantity of disposable diapers in the waste stream is to educate base residents on the benefits of using cloth diapers. Diaper services usually deliver and pick up diapers once a week. The diaper does not need to be pre-soaked or treated in any way. The soiled diaper is taken off the baby, put into the hamper, and picked up by the service.

The use of cloth diapers is easily implemented and offers a unique pollution prevention strategy. Disposable diapers can be a significant source of waste in residential trash. They contribute untreated human waste to the landfill or waste disposal system, increasing the potential for groundwater contamination and the spread of disease-carrying organisms. It is estimated that disposable diapers contribute 1.4%, of the total volume of municipal waste disposed in U.S. landfills (EPA, 2000). Using cloth diapers removes the disposable diaper waste stream from landfills and transfers the human waste to the sanitary sewer system where it is properly treated. Used cloth diapers are placed in special hampers that are designed to contain this type of waste.

The compliance benefits listed here are only meant to be used as general guidelines and are not meant to be strictly interpreted. Actual compliance benefits will vary depending on the factors involved, e.g., the amount of workload involved.

• Source reduction potential of 1.3 % of disposed waste (EPA, 1994).
• Reduction of untreated human waste in landfills.
• Reduction of resource consumption from disposable diapers.
• Cost savings due to reduced landfill disposal fees.
• Cost savings from reusable diapers.

• Less convenient.
• Handling, storing, and laundering diapers is a disagreeable task.
• May be difficult to implement due to the ease and accessibility of disposable diapers.

Assumptions:

• Each use of a cloth diaper is equivalent to one disposable diaper.
• A baby uses 60 diapers per week, which is 3,120 diapers per year.
• The weight of a single soiled disposable diaper is 0.5499 lb; the weight of soiled disposable diapers produced per baby (60 diapers per week) is 1,56057 lb/yr.
• Each cloth diaper is used 78 times before disposal.
• A package of 12 cloth diapers costs $15.29, they are used 78 times, so that 3.33 packages are required per year, and they are recycled as rags when no longer usable.
• A package of 40 disposable diapers costs $5.27, and 78 packs are used per year.
• The cost of using a diaper service is $ 13.70 per week.
• Waste disposal costs are $40 per ton diaper disposal cost is therefore $31.14 per baby, per year.
• Cost comparison made for diaper use for one baby.

Economic Analysis Summary:

• Annual Savings for Diaper Service: -$269
  
• Capital Cost for Diversion Equipment/Process: $0
  
• Payback Period for Investment in Equipment/Process: N/A

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