Mexico grows use of disposable diapers

• April 26, 2024

According to a study funded by the United Nations Environment Program and the Government of Sweden, 14% of thesolid waste urban areas generated in Mexico corresponds to Disposable diapers .

This is a real challenge in terms of waste management. According to the doctor Rosa María Espinosa Valdemar, biologist at the Faculty of Sciences of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), there are several health and environmental risks related to Disposable diapers deposited in landfills, among which are:

1. Stools, that should be in the drain.

2. The plastics , which are petroleum derivatives and which take a long time to degrade and are difficult to compact in landfills . It is estimated that the minimum period for its degradation is 100 years.

3. On average, a baby uses 6,700 Disposable diapers in three years.

4. According to Espinosa Valdemar, it is necessary to raise awareness in Mexico to reuse the Cloth diapers .

Goodbye to disposable diapers

Although they already exist in the market biodegradable diapers ; its cost is still very high. According to the director of the National Center for Environmental Research and Training (Cenica), Víctor Gutiérrez Avedoy, Disposable diapers They are composed mainly of cellulose Y synthetic fibers .

In addition to plastic materials such as polyethylene , propylene and a synthetic polymer super absorbent that, although it is not biodegradable in the short term, is inert and has no toxic character.

To manufacture them requires a high consumption of water, non-renewable energy and the use of raw material from trees. Meanwhile, biodegradable diapers They are made from corn starch and potato.

Data from the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA, for its acronym in English), indicate that globally, the United States, China and Mexico are the countries that dispose more disposable diapers. Each year, more than 2 million such absorbers are purchased in Mexico.