gDiapers: the New Flushable Diaper
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 12.13.05
Taking heed of the fact that a single diaper can take 500 years to biodegrade in a landfill, gDiapers have designed an absorbent diaper insert that can be safely flushed once baby has done his/her business. gDiapers have no elemental chlorine, perfumes, smell or garbage, and the damp ones can even make good compost -- they recommend that the brown ones always get flushed down. How is flushing good for the planet, you ask? Simple. Poop goes down the toilet, and that's where it belongs. While toilet clogging remains a risk, gDiapers gently urges users to "know thy toilet," which, when we think about it, is good advice for anyone. For anyone still skeptical, check out this enthusiastic testimonial from tipster Molly:
"We were a little worried about the whole flushing down the toilet idea, but it works just fine in our toilet at home (and we don't use the special swish stick). The flushable inserts come in packs of 40 and cost just about the same amount as a pack of 40 Seventh Generation disposable diapers. So, once you order the outer reusable diapers (they come in 'starter' packs of two with 10 flushable inserts) for US $25 you just need to order the flushable inserts. We have found that it is best to have about four loaded and ready to use gDiapers around the house so you can just grab one and change baby. No leaks so far. Everything has stayed contained in the flushable insert. We are impressed."
Still concerned? The flushable pad met the Water Environment Research Foundation acceptance criteria specifically in regards to bowl and trap clearance, plus, gDiapers and the National Sanitation Foundation tested six toilets for flushability, and each one passed (no pun intended). The flushables are made of a water resistant, breathable outer material that keep bottoms dry and wetness away. They are made of all natural fiber and are 100% biodegradable. The interior uses elemental chlorine-free tree farmed fluff pulp and poly-acrylate to absorb wetness. The website are instructions for composting the wet inserts, as well as more details on their environmental and social responsibility initiatives. gDiapers is all about getting young TreeHuggers started early, and we're all for that. For anyone not in the greater Portland, OR area, gDiapers can be had here. ::gDiapers
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While I applaud the development of a product that reroutes solid waste (in diapers) from landfills I do not feel that these diapers are equivalent to 7th Generation or Tushies for one reason: the poly-acrylate gel. This substance is used to increase absorbency and has been linked to toxic-shock syndrome in tampons, not something I want on the tender skin of my child. I have not tried these diapers but have seen poly-acrylate crystals leak from a conventional diaper onto an infant's diaper area.
gDiapers is aware of this, and here's what they have to say (from their media kit):
"This material suffered a Public Relations nightmare in 1980 when it was used in tampons. It was erroneously connected to a series of cases of Toxic Shock Syndrome. See a recent Newsweek article that establishes that super absorber is not the cause.
www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6959935/site/newsweek
Over 200 studies have shown that the use of super absorber is safe in this application, which is why we have chosen to use it."
Who throws away diapers, anyway?
I will admit, though, that choosing between organic cotton and hemp diapers can be difficult.
Whatever happened to cloth diapers?
Thanks for the info about these diapers. I ordered my starter kit a few minutes ago and can't wait to try them.
A question still remains, though--I realize that liners containing solid waste *must* be flushed (I already dump the solid waste from the disposables into the toilet) but if the liners that only contain liquid waste are compostable, why is it necessary to flush them? I don't have the greatest toilet and want to minimize flushing/potential for backup. So can't I just toss the pee-filled liners in the trash and still be acting responsibly? FAQs on g-diaper's site don't answer this. Anyone have thoughts?
A further question remains: Why are people who are concerned with the environment having children? Folks who have adopted need not answer this question.
So how do they work in a septic system?
There are all kinds of things you can flush, but you don't necessarily want in your septic system.
Would they work in a composting toilet?
My name is Jason Graham-Nye and I am one of the founders of gDiapers.
To answer some questions above:
Rick: The product has been available in Australia for 15 years and we have many customers on septic. As those who are on septic know, it is important to monitor the load and for some customers, they need to drain their systems more frequently. We are proactivally looking for a US standard we can use to get a 'Septic tank safe" accreditation. To date, we have only found lab based tests which don't accurately reflect real world conditions. Our Australian-based septic tests can be found at :
http://www.gdiapers.com/downloads/pdf/ISWA_1998.pdf
Erin : I think I just emailed you with an answer. You can indeed throw the wet ones in the trash and as they are free of plastic,they will biodegrade faster than a regular disposable. The problem is that nothing biodegrades fast in landfill as it is an airless environment. There is a common misconception that landfills are giant composters. That is not the case. It is impossible to say how long a disposable diaper or ours would talke to biodegrade but we can safely say that gDIapers would biodegrade faster than a plastic disposable.
Zuzka - One more thing to consider about the gel. Over and above the 200 studies which declare it safe, in terms of toxicology, a baby would need to eat 5 of our flushables whole - the outer cover stock, the pulp and the gel, to get to the same level of toxicity as ingesting one teaspoon of common table salt. We were cloth users before we stumbled across this product back in Australia. We too had heard that the gel was not good. But after digging around for empirical datas., we could find nothing to support the claim.
Come on! To be truly environmental you should not be trying to get away from flushing. And these are disposable.
Flushing clean, fresh water --while the norm in our society-- is not a good thing. It sure won't be in 50 years when the water supply is in even worse shape.
And regarding the comments about not having children if you are environmental. That is just silly.
And regarding the comments about not having children if you are environmental. That is just silly.
"Silly" huh? Seriously, could you explain to me how adding to the human population is good for the environment? Before you answer maybe you should take this quiz:
http://www.earthday.net/footprint/index.asp
"Silly" huh? Seriously, could you explain to me how adding to the human population is good for the environment? Before you answer maybe you should take this quiz:
http://www.earthday.net/footprint/index.asp
Maybe you should lighten up a bit. Following your own logic, why are you on a computer made of plastic and metal running off power (most likely a fossil fuel) reading about being green? Not very environmental is it?!
Be nice to the environment and if you want, have a kid or two (but not eight or ten). And then, teach them to be nice to the environment. Finally, enjoy life (at least a bit!) --and if you're on Treehugger, you want life a little more green and stylish.
It always amazes me when people who are trying to make responsible (though small and incremental) environmental choices are attacked for past decisions rather than encouraged or supported in making the best ones right now. Yes, I have a child (what does the anti-child poster suggest that I do with him?) and yes I have been using disposable diapers because I live in a tiny NYC apartment with no washer/dryer and would have to wash cloth diapers at a public laundromat. Now that I've heard of a better alternative, I am eager to try it out and learn all I can about it. I wish the sanctimonious attitude of these posters was a thing of the past.
Here is an article in a main stream newpaper on going diaper-free!
These "anti-diaper" posters need to check their underlying assumptions. Assumption one: all moms can afford to stay home so that their kids can run around diaperless (diaperless won't go over too well at my kid's daycare). Assumption two: all moms can afford to live in a house with a washer/dryer to keep those cloth nappies nice and clean.
And for those who think there are too many people on earth, what are you still doing here?
Hello,
Jason again from gDiapers. Zuzka, I failed to mention that 7th Generation DOES use the very same gel we use and it is for the same reasons I stated above.
For those adverse to gel, cloth and Tushies are excellent choices.
Cheers
Jason
It is totally irresposible that G-diapers are billed as biodegradeble and natural. There are a bleached prouduct. There is no diffrence in what is inside these and a regular disposable diaper. I certainly wouldn't put a Huggies in my compost pile. Fact is G-Diapers is putting out a lot of FALSE advertising and should be stopped!!! Boycott this product.
Hi Happy Hippy
Jason here from gDiapers.
The product is biodegradable and compostable and flushable.
Please take a look at http://www.gdiapers.com/happyplanet
where we have done all of our due diligence and testing.
To your points:
Firstly, the outer cover stock is not bleached. Bleaching is only an issue if you use chlorine. A product bleached without elemental chlorine tests non-detect for dioxin so is harmless to the environment. The fluff pulp we use is treated in such a way.
Good not to put a Huggies in landfill. It contains Polypropolene that takes 500 years to biodegrade. Our product contains no Polypropolene thus making it biodegradable.
Please read the research on the site and specifically identify the false claims you feel we are making. Email me at the address on the site and I can respond offline.
Kind regards
Jason
CEO - gDiapers
Excuse me Realist. Little reality check: even adopted babies need diapers.
Jason-
Just curious- did you find that flushing a G-diaper takes more or less water than washing a cloth diaper (considering that cloth diapers are obviously washed in large groupings)? What inspired the switch for your family- convenience, enviro friendly, owning and running a socially responsible business, etc? We have cloth diapered and used seventh gen diapers for night and nap...just bought a pack of G's and we will let you know what we think. Happy to support a Portland business (even if it is from afar- Pullman)
Cheers- Rebekka
Hey everyone,
can we just stick to the subject of the topic of the article-diapers-for those of us who just want to know info on them it would be great not to have to filter through silly postings that are off topic!
Thanks-and thanks to Gdiapers for caring to respond in this forum.
Lisa
I am getting ready to order a starter kit. I currently use cloth and some disposable for by older daughter while potty training - she refuses to wear cloth right now and we have to have SOMETHING on her when we go out of the house. This may also be a great alternative for those of us who use daycare or preschool and need a caregiver to change diapers. Many states do not allow cloth in daycare settings, so this may be a great alternative!! Thanks for this product. If just to have for our travels and overnights and preschool . . . can't wait to try!
hey traic
amamaswork -
I would think that flushing a poopy gdiaper would use exacly the same amount of water as flushing the poop out of a cloth one...the wet ones need not be flushed and can be composted. Therefore, since the gdiapers require a good deal less laundering, I would conclude that using cloth uses more water.