I’d like to say that the most ill considered thing about disposable nappies is the name. They last for centuries. All the disposable nappies ever "disposed of" are still around...

But even less logical, is the idea that "disposable" nappies are convenient.

The CON in CONVENIENCE
Ask a mother why she uses "disposable" nappies rather than cloth nappies. The short answer is "Its convenient". I wonder if she knows this is short for "I find it convenient to transfer current inconvenience for me into future inconvenience for my baby". I wonder if she’s thought it all through thoroughly. I wonder if she’s done her "convenience sums" correctly.

Babies in "disposable" nappies take six to twelve months longer to potty train, than babies in cloth nappies. Convenient?

Cloth nappies never run out. "Disposable" nappies are always on your shopping list. Convenient?

At 2010 prices, a full set of 40 cloth nappies (I’m talking the original white square 100% cotton nappy – best SA brand is Glodina Black Label) cost R700. Add R825 for 15 packs of liners (washable, reusable, biodegradable and flushable, 100 in a pack, R55 per pack) and R1200 for 12 breathable nappy covers. Add another R3,000 for washing costs and you’re looking at R5,725 until your baby is potty trained.

A baby will probably use a minimum of 5000 "disposable" nappies in all. At R2.50 each, that comes to R12,500 before your baby is potty trained. More than double the price. Convenient?

A study conducted at Kiel University in Germany in 2000 showed that the temperature inside "disposable" nappies was up to 5 degrees Celsius higher than in cloth nappies. (If you don’t believe this, test it for yourself.) The semen-producing function of testicles is developed in the first two years of life, and is dependent on the testicular region being kept reasonably cool. So it is possible that "disposable" nappies will compromise your son’s future fertility. Convenient?

The absorbing gel in "disposable" nappies, sodium polyacrylate, has not been tested for long term effects on reproductive organs from 24-hour exposure. In 1985, this chemical was banned in the use of tampons because of a link to toxic shock syndrome. Convenient?

With cloth nappies, once your baby is potty trained, you will be left with a set of 40 nappies. You can either use these for your second baby or you can give them to one of the many mothers in SA who definitely can’t afford "disposables". Alternatively, you can use them for cleaning, and when they’re no longer even good for that, you can put them in your compost heap and, being cotton, they will decompose and return to nature within months.

If you’ve used "disposables", by the time your baby is potty trained, you will be left with the knowledge that your baby’s 5000 nappies will spend centuries rotting in a landfill site, releasing methane into the atmosphere, and causing all sorts of problems that your baby and his/her generation will need to solve. Convenient?

The first thing parents ask me when they see my baby in cloth nappies is: "But what do you do with the poo?" To which I answer: "It gets flushed down the loo, inside a flushable, biodegradable nappy liner. What do YOU do with the poo?" To which the answer is: "We throw it away – it’s SO convenient!" Which is short for: "We enclose the poo in the plastic nappy, and then pop it into a plastic bag because otherwise the smell from the bin is unbearable. Then we pop that plastic bag into a bin which is itself lined with a plastic bag. When that plastic bag is full, we take it out to our wheelie bin, which we often also line with a plastic bag. After a few days, a (big, noisy, smelly) truck (belching carbon monoxide) comes and collects the poo (enclosed in its four layers of plastic) and drives many kilometers out of town to deposit it in a landfill site. The poo itself (even once it has broken through its four layers of plastic) never makes it back into the cycle of life. Instead, it rots, releasing methane and, along with its pathogens, can leach into the water table. Convenient?

Parents who use "disposables" have a variety of convenient arguments:
"By using disposables we’re saving water." Far more water is used in the manufacturing process of disposables, than to wash cloth nappies. And if water wastage really is a key concern, then a grey water system is the answer. The water from a washing machine can irrigate a garden – as long as biodegradable laundry detergents have been used.

"By using disposables, we use a lot less environmentally harmful laundry detergents." Not if one uses a locally-produced, biodegradable laundry liquid. (Try Bloublommetjies Laundry Liquid – R130 per 5 litre container, delivered to your home by Ethical Coop.)

"I’m afraid the nappy pin will prick my baby." Huh? What century are we living in? You can get a pack of 2 snappy nappy fasteners for R19 from Baby City or any pharmacy.

"I haven’t got the time." This is one of the greatest fallacies – that cloth nappies are somehow time-consuming. You take the wet nappy off and put it in a dry bucket until you have enough dirty clothing / linen / nappies to fill your machine. Any rate, how many SA mothers who can afford "disposables" do their own laundry?

"I can’t handle poo." True, if the poo is a runny one, it may not all get caught in the liner. In which case, you’ll need to rinse the remaining poo off the nappy under running water, before adding it to your laundry. Bear in mind, this is not any poo. This is YOUR baby’s poo. If you can’t handle your own baby’s poo, then (in the infamous words of a rogue I know) "maybe it’s time to take a long, hard look in the mirror and toughen the **** up".

If you’re still reading, it is possible you’re keen to give cloth nappies a chance.
Perhaps you like cloth nappies in theory, but you’re not sure you’ll cope in practice. I suggest the following:

1. Use "disposables" until your baby is 5kg in weight. By that time, you’ve recovered from the initial shock of motherhood.
2. Use cloth nappies by day, but "disposables" at night.
3. Use cloth nappies during the week when your nanny is the primary care-taker, and "disposables" on the weekends.
4. Use cloth nappies at home, but "disposables" when you’re out and about.

Either way, you’re faced with the choice of pre-shaped versus square nappies. This is largely a matter of personal preference. Personally, I prefer the original square nappy. Their advantages are:

1. They dry much quicker.
2. They fit more snugly.
3. They are much cheaper. (R17.50 vs R120)

Their possible disadvantages are:

1. They need to be folded. (Though for me, folding them has become a ritual from which I derive much pleasure.)
2. They are bulkier. (Once again, I count this as an advantage because the bulk makes it easier to hold a baby on your hip – which is where babies seem to spend a lot of time.)
3. The standard size square nappy (65cm) is too big for babies under 5kg. You can buy 60cm squares to see you through to 5kg. Pre-shaped nappies, on the other hand, are size adjustable and fit all sizes. When my first baby was born, I bought a full set of pre-shaped nappies, but so preferred the square ones that I gave the whole set away to a friend.

So the good old fashioned white cotton square nappy of our grannies' day is the way forward.

But wait! There’s more!
Wet wipes. Perfumed, packaged, indisposable, non-flushable, non-reusable wet wipes. Another "convenience" item. Hallo? Loo paper? And then you can use washable wipes from Mother Nature. Alternatively, just cut 4 muslin clothes into 9 squares each and sew the edges. You’ll have 36 washable cotton nappy wipes – enough to last you a lifetime.

The bottom line (excuse the pun) is: the bad habit of using disposables and wet wipes is wet and ought to be disposed of.

Sandy Van Hoogstraten is a green mama with a strong aversion to plastic nappies, party packs and shale fracks – and all other manifestations of our short-sighted and ill-conceived notion of the good life. Her motto is: go green or go home!

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