By Kathleen Guthrie Woods
A friend posted this article (you don’t need to read it) on Facebook about the huge environmental impact of using disposable diapers. Stats indicate that the average baby will use 6,500-10,000 diapers, and in the United States that translates to 7.6 billion pounds of nonbiodegradable garbage a year!
The point of the article is to encourage parents to use cloth diapers, and the photo below was included…
…and it got me thinking…shouldn’t there be a third display, the one representing childfree people that is sparkling clean and empty?
Kathleen Guthrie Woods is a Northern California–based freelance writer. She is wrapping up her memoir about being a temporary single mommy and how it helped her come to terms with being childfree.
Honestly, by the time someone is seriously considering which type of diaper to use, they are usually already expecting. The third display would be kind of irrelevant. I’m all for telling young women (and men) that a childfree life is a valid choice and/or not the end of the world, but I’m not sure this would be the appropriate place.
I don’t think Kathleen meant that they should literally include a display representing the childfree, but was only using the imagery as a way to make the point that childfree people tend to contribute much less to this build up of nonbiodegradable garbage compared to those with children.
Not having children is the most environmentally friendly thing I could do. Travel a lot, and my guilt from the effects of the long haul flights I take is assuaged by the fact I have never had to throw away a disposable nappie (diaper).