"Efficient" parenting

Piwoslaw · 05-22-12, 02:43 PM

Generously assuming that reusable diapers cost 0.08 PLN per use and are changed 9 times per day, that's 262.8 PLN (77.1 USD/59.1 EUR).

Disposables can hold more, so with 8 changes per day and, say, 0.90 PLN per diaper gives a yearly cost of 2628 PLN (771 USD/591 EUR).

If I got tedious about the math I'd get a lower cost for the reusables, maybe 0.04-0.05 PLN per use, plus I'd have to add the extra cost of rash ointments to the disposables (which we don't need with cloth diapers

), then the savings would be even larger.

The actual numbers may be a little off, but the bottom line is that disposables are an order of magnitude more expensive than reusables

I think that the difference is worth the extra effort needed with reusables.

There is also the hidden cost of first producing, and then disposing of, each diaper. A cotton diaper which is used scores or hundreds of times, then used again as a rag for years, beats the plastics and chemicals needed for a single disposable diaper, which is used for 1-4 hours and then tossed into the landfill.

05-22-12, 02:43 PM	#22
Piwoslaw Super Moderator Join Date: May 2009 Location: Warsaw, Poland Posts: 961 Thanks: 188 Thanked 110 Times in 86 Posts	Generously assuming that reusable diapers cost 0.08 PLN per use and are changed 9 times per day, that's 262.8 PLN (77.1 USD/59.1 EUR). Disposables can hold more, so with 8 changes per day and, say, 0.90 PLN per diaper gives a yearly cost of 2628 PLN (771 USD/591 EUR). If I got tedious about the math I'd get a lower cost for the reusables, maybe 0.04-0.05 PLN per use, plus I'd have to add the extra cost of rash ointments to the disposables (which we don't need with cloth diapers), then the savings would be even larger. The actual numbers may be a little off, but the bottom line is that disposables are an order of magnitude more expensive than reusables I think that the difference is worth the extra effort needed with reusables. There is also the hidden cost of first producing, and then disposing of, each diaper. A cotton diaper which is used scores or hundreds of times, then used again as a rag for years, beats the plastics and chemicals needed for a single disposable diaper, which is used for 1-4 hours and then tossed into the landfill. __________________ Ecorenovation - the bottomless piggy bank that tries to tame the energy hog.