ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

CASE STUDY #3: DIAPERS

Name:

Disposable diapers, manufactured from paper and petroleum products, are one of the most convenient diapering systems
available. Disposable diapers are also considered by many to be anti-environment, but the truth is not so clear-cut. Three
diapering systems are considered: home-laundered cloth diapers, commercially laundered cloth diapers, and disposable
diapers containing a superabsorbent gel. Energy and material balances are used to determine the relative merits of each
system.

The following shows data for 1,000 diapers:

Cloth Diapers
Disposable Diapers Commercially Laundered Home Laundered
Energy requirements, 106 kJ 1.9 2.1 3.8
Solid waste, m3 17 2.3 2.3
Atmospheric emissions, kg 8.3 4.5 9.6
Waterborne wastes, kg 1.5 5.8 6.1
Water volume requirements, L 1300 3400 2700

An average of 68 cloth diapers are used per week per baby. Because disposable diapers last longer and never need double
diapering, the number of disposable diapers can be expressed to be less.

1. Determine the number of disposable diapers required to match the 68 cloth diapers per week. Assume the following:
 15.8 billion disposable diapers are sold annually.
 3,787,000 babies are born each year.
 Children wear diapers for the first 30 months.
 Disposable diapers are worn by only 85% of the babies.

2. Complete the following table that shows the ratio of impact relative to the home-laundered diapers. The first line has
been completed for you.
Cloth Diapers
Disposable Diapers Commercially Laundered Home Laundered
Energy requirements, 106 kJ 0.5 0.55 1.0
Solid waste, m3 1.0
Atmospheric emissions, kg 1.0
Waterborne wastes, kg 1.0
Water volume requirements, L 1.0

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