Despite what an “eco nappy” may claim, they all contain some amount of plastic parts. The greatest problem is, however, that irrespective of what they are made from, none of them “biodegrade” once they are sent to landfill. Once something goes to landfill it is essentially mummified for ever.
Many years ago, the Tasmanian company Eenees invented a 100% plant nappy pad and incontinence pad system that is flushable (and compostable, except for the hygiene issue). That Eenees nappy pouch pants and pad system still has a very loyal following. Excitingly, they have just launched a zero-waste Eenees disposable nappy that is accepted by commercial composters.
Even when a nappy claims it can be composted, it is unacceptable public hygiene to compost a soiled nappy in your backyard. The only real solution is commercial composting, which diverts the nappies from landfill and deals with the hygiene problem of composting in your backyard.
Eenees is endorsed by Compost Australia as the first and only disposable acceptable for commercial composting. There are already several areas in Australia where commercial composting is underway.
Even if you are not able to send the nappies to compost, they are absolutely the best choice for the environment because they use no petrochemicals and they are made right here in Australia – Eenees should be congratulated by the Prime Minister of Australia for this achievement. Most nappies are made overseas. Disposable nappies take up so much volume, imagine the green house emissions alone in shipping them here.
Can you imagine the hurdles that Eenees had to clear to make this dream a reality. Yes, they are a little more expensive than supermarket brand disposables. But don’t they deserve to be? The supermarkets sell nappies at ridiculously low margins to get parents into their stores, distorting the perception of what a disposable nappy should cost (plus, there's no accounting in the price for the environmental cost).
Eenees are made in Australia, they are made from 100% plants, and they can truly be composted with ZERO waste. In fact, the Prime Minister should mandate their use!
