Pierce County Coalition for Environmental Health Priorities EPA CARE Level II Proposal attachment: Action Plans Page 1 of 5 E. Reducing Diaper Waste

Transcription

1 EPA CARE Level II Proposal attachment: Action Plans Page 1 of 5 E. Reducing Diaper Waste GOALs: Reduce use of non-biodegradable diapers: Educate consumers, medical facilities, retail businesses, parents and educators on the benefits of biodegradable disposable diapers. Make bio-degradable diapers more available to parents. To eventually have a community that only uses bio-degradable disposable diapers or cloth diapers. MEASURABLE objectives: Reduce the sale and use of non bio-degradable diapers by 5%. Hold at least 5 seminars about biodegradable, cloth and other diapers impacts. Environmental benefits of alternative diapering solutions: Reducing the use of oil, a major pollutant: a traditional disposable diaper has about one cup of crude oil in it. Most biodegradable diapers contain no elemental chlorine, perfume, dyes, latex or plastic. A baby will either use 7,000 disposable diapers or 80 cotton diapers. A cloth diaper is used for 3 years. A disposable diaper is used for 2 hours. Most biodegradable disposable diapers use absorbent pulp from sustainably harvested forests. Biodegradable diapers compost within days. Less dioxin and greenhouse gas emissions Removing fecal matter from the solid waste stream: lower risks to garbage haulers; lower risks of surface and groundwater contamination, if landfill fails. Reducing landfill demand billion disposable diapers are sold annually nationwide and many go into landfills. Disposable diapers are the third largest single consumer item in landfills and represent 30% of non-biodegradable waste. Additional health benefits from action: o Less diaper rash. Babies and vulnerable adults are exposed to irritants such as perfume, latex and plastic. Who s most vulnerable to risks or benefits? Babies and people using adult diapers, from exposure to toxics in diapers. Everyone, from reduced environmental impacts. Economic costs or benefits: Reduced health care costs for treating babies diaper rash Reduced landfill costs

2 EPA CARE Level II Proposal attachment: Action Plans Page 2 of 5 WHO? Action level (neighborhood, watershed, county, etc): Groups and Individuals Possible LEAD organization and individual(s): Danielle, Veronica, Chris Matter-Rinehart (TPCHD), a willing hospital Possible PARTNER organizations and individuals: Walmart, Babies US, Target, Nature Care, gdiapers, midwives and doulas, local medical facilities, DSHS WIC programs, and educational institutions. Pierce County Solid Waste Advisory Committee, Tacoma Solid Waste Advisory Committee, Washington Toxics Coalition (watoxics.org), Toxics Free Legacy, Institute for Children s Environmental Health (iceh.org), parenting and women s groups, cloth diaper services, smaller specialty stores such as Marlene s and Metropolitan Market. OTHERS who have an impact on issue: Babies, elders and caregivers. HOW? STRATEGIES and STEPS to reach goals Ask local retailers to consider carrying Bio-Degradable Disposable Diapers or Cloth Diapers. o See excerpts from letters sent to Naty and Target, below. o Find out if bio-degradable diaper manufacturers or local diaper services could provide discount coupons or biodegradable diapers to use in educational campaign. o Start with smaller local specialty stores such as Marlene s and Metropolitan Markets, who sell other environmentally friendly/sustainable products. See if they might be interested in becoming a district representative for the biodegradable diapers. TIMELINE: Ongoing Marketing Campaign: Nov o Develop education and marketing materials and web site. o Posters at WIC, DSHS, Bates, TCC, Pierce College, Library, Group Health, on buses. o Mailings to Medical Facilities & Clinics, Nursing Homes, Hospitals, Midwives & Doulas. o Postcards in newborn go-home package from hospitals. o Include information on seminars, resources, proper disposal of diapers, and a contact person. o Encourage everyone to write stores asking them to carry biodegradable diapers.

3 EPA CARE Level II Proposal attachment: Action Plans Page 3 of 5 Education campaign: Hold at least 5 seminars with educators Jan medical facilities, WIC programs and parenting programs to spread the word about benefits of bio-degradable and cloth diapers. o Start with one hospital, which would educate parents and use biodegradable diapers in the hospital. o Hold at stores carrying bio-degradable diapers and other places. o Provide educational materials and bio-degradable diapers or coupons. Evaluate impact of education and marketing campaign, and seminars: Jan o Interview parents and others before and after seminars about their diaper use, reasons for changing or not changing to bio-degradable or cloth diapers, and concerns. Track and follow up with these people. o Use cooler to track s forwarded and how many people reached. o Track number of hits on web site. Naty AB, Gamlavärmdövägen 4, Nacka Sweden Phone: , Fax: , info@naty.se Let me introduce myself. My name is Danielle Dykas and I am a member of the Pierce County Environmental Coalition. I belong to a sub-committee working on solid waste issues for Pierce County. As a new mother, I have been researching natural, organic, less harmful for the environment products for my new baby. I chose your brand of diapers after trying several other traditional disposables and non-traditional biodegradable diapers. I have been very pleased with your product but have been surprised when talking with other mothers that they have never heard of your product. I would like to have them more available at markets in Pierce County. Is that a possibility? What can I do to help? Target Corporation, North Tacoma Store: Let me introduce myself. My name is Danielle Dykas and I am a member of the Pierce County Environmental Coalition. I belong to a sub-committee working on solid waste issues for Pierce County. As a new mother, I have been researching natural, organic, less harmful for the environment products for my new baby. I chose Nature s Best diapers after trying several other traditional disposables and non-traditional biodegradable diapers. I have been very pleased with this product but have disappointed that they are not available locally. I would like be able to purchase them at my local Target where I do much of my shopping. Is that a possibility? CHALLENGES and BARRIERS: Biodegradable diapers can only be purchased online or at specialty stores. Most people don t know they are an option

4 EPA CARE Level II Proposal attachment: Action Plans Page 4 of 5 What do you NEED to get this done? Marketing help, Media awareness Information sources, references, best practices: Environmental concerns of traditional disposable diapers: 50 million disposable diapers enter the landfill every day. It takes from years for them to decompose billion diapers that are sold annually go directly into a landfill. That s 3.5 million tons of poop and plastic going into the ground every year. An incredible amount of resources is used to produce a product that will only last for 2 hours and then be thrown away. Disposable diapers are the third largest single consumer item in landfills and represent 30% of non-biodegradable waste. Disposable diapers, which can contain virus-infected feces, are a potential hazard to the environment and to the workers servicing landfills. Disposables appear to produce less sewage because in them, human waste goes to the landfills. This practice violates World Health Organization guidelines and is technically illegal. Single-use diapers use 37% more water than home laundered or diapers service laundered reusable." (1) Wastewater from washing cloth diapers is relatively benign, while the wastewater from pulp, paper and plastics contains "solvents, sludge, heavy metals, unreacted polymers, dioxins and furans. The potential environmental impacts of the disposal of these materials are considerable". Non- biodegradable disposable diapers are a contributor to pollution such as dioxin, TBT (tributylin). TBT compounds are considered as toxic chemicals which have negative effects on humans and the environment. [1] Tributyltin compounds are moderately to highly persistent organic pollutants that bioconcentrate up the marine predators' food chain. The leaching of TBT into the aquatic environment causes irreversible damage to aquatic life. Certain brands of disposable diapers contain TBT. Research shows that TBT that could disrupt human hormones. Chemical analysis of five types of newborn size diapers that showed the presence of tributyltin (TBT). Although the amounts found were extremely small, babies could be in contact with up to 3.6 times the estimated tolerable daily intake. 1 cup of crude oil is used for the plastic in 1 disposable diaper. Disposable diapers, which can contain virus-infected feces, are a potential hazard to the environment and to the workers servicing the landfills. Although disposable diapers are the most expensive diapering alternative, 85 percent of all diaper changes are made with disposables. In addition, more elderly are using a similar product to manage incontinence. As our population ages, this will only become a larger problem.

5 EPA CARE Level II Proposal attachment: Action Plans Page 5 of 5 Some Environmentally friendly diapering options - gdiapers, Nature Babycare, Cloth, EC (Elimination Communication, no diapers): gdiapers: no elemental chlorine, no perfumes, no smell, no garbage. Flushable is made from cellulose fibers from sustainably harvested trees. Elemental chlorine free, perfume free, latex free, and plastic free. You can even garden compost the wet ones in one compost cycle. Nature Babycare: No oil-based plastics, 100% Chlorine-free. Absorbent pulp from sustainably harvested Scandinavian forests. No latex, fragrance, or TBT (tributyltin) Compostable. Cloth: When a diaper service is used, diapers are washed in large, energy-efficient batches, greatly reducing their environmental impact. They don't contaminate the environment, because washing water is typically processed through sewage systems. Elimination Communication: EC can be done using diapers all of the time, some of the time, or not at all. By reducing the number of diapers used, EC provides a more environmentally-sound option than conventional cloth or disposable diapering. The reason EC is an environmental sound practice is that all the waste goes through the sewage system to be treated. The Canadian Cloth Diaper Association (CCDA), 1537 Welch Street, North Vancouver, B.C. V7P 1B5. is a non-profit organization whose mandate is: "To educate the public about the advantages of cloth diapers and to encourage their use, in order to reduce landfill pollution, preserve our forests and avoid risks to our children's health." The sources for the facts listed above are the following: Sierra Club, Californians Against Waste, Rhode Island Solid Waste Management Agency, Lehrberguer Report on the Impact of Diapers on the Environment, Greenpeace, Environmental Defense Fund, Center for Policy Alternative. Source: (1) Lehrburger, Mullen, James, Diapers: Environmental Impacts and Lifecycle Analysis, January 1991 Source: WEN press release, July 30, 2000 Contact: Women's Environmental Network, P.O. Box London E1 1TZ UK; phone (44-207) ; wenuk@gn.apc.org. BUDGET: Printing: Educational brochures and postcards: 5,000 $1 each: $5000 5,000 $.50 each $2500 Education signs for buses and offices 250 $4 each: $1000 Postage: Mailings (brochures, postcards, issues of newsletter, meeting announcements, other literature, and required documents) each $1050 TOTAL: $9550