On My Soap Box –Poop

Poop and how we dispose of it is one of the factors that separate the third world from the rest. Clean water is one thing that we in the USA take for granted most towns, cities, and municipalities in the USA have clean water. Of course there are some that have problems but in general we can turn on the tap, drink the water and not worry if we will get cholera or dysentery or some other illness from water. Since the Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act were put in place people have become more educated and government and private agencies have worked hard to make our water drinkable for all Americans. This has not happened without considerable effort and money. People and companies have had to make major changes. There are still things that can and will take place to insure that our water is safe.
So here is where I get on my soap box. I have been up here before about diapers, recycling, plastics, water bottles, cat litter, and light bulbs. Today’s soapbox topic is poop. I was looking for an article on poop in disposable diapers not decomposing at the right temperature to kill bacteria and other things. I couldn’t find it although I am sure I read it. But in my search I found articles on cow poop and pig poop and dog poop and cat poop polluting our waters. I found articles on poop left by hikers in national parks. So I was wondering; why I can’t find an article or a study on the impact of human poop in landfills? I did find one on the ills effect of the gel stuff in feminine hygiene products and another on the plastics in the disposable diapers on ground water. I found an article that estimate that 27 billion disposable diapers a year are thrown into landfills. My kids are out of diapers so why is this so important to me? Simply-the earth is where I live and I like living here.
The last recession has people thinking how to save money and maybe our resources too. People other than college professors in cork sandals are bringing their own bags to the stores. I have even seen business people in heels and suits using reusable grocery sacks at the end of the day in stores. There are articles in the paper and segments on local news that tell us how to be more energy-wise and eco-friendly. I am happy that the rest of the world has finally caught on to the fact that not only will you “save the planet” *scoff* but you can save money. By the way I like that this green movement has my grocery store posting signs over produce that come from a local farm.
So why if everyone is so willing to be green and save money- why don’t more people switch to cloth diapers and stop polluting our planted with poop filled plastic time bombs? Why do we think the just because we put these things (diapers, cat poop, dog poop) in our trash can at the curb that the problem goes away?
On happy note, my sister has seen the light and will be using cloth diapers for her next baby. Whoohoo!