End Urged to Rash of Diapers
Declaring that “California needs a diaper change,” Sen. Lucy Killea (D-San Diego) on Wednesday unveiled a bill that would require environmental warning stickers on packages of plastic disposable diapers.
The proposed legislation, Senate Bill 2342, would set up a toll-free “diaper line” to advise parents on ecologically safe alternatives to disposable diapers. It would also prohibit child care centers from discriminating against children whose parents opt for reusable cloth diapers.
Killea said she was introducing the bill because 2.5 million disposable diapers were sent to dwindling landfills or thrown away as litter--an output that costs the state $56 million in disposal costs.
If parents were to switch to old-fashioned cloth diapers, or even those with new Velcro fasteners, the savings over disposable diapers would be $1,500 per child, she added.
“We’ve taken on aluminum, glass and plastic beverage containers,” Killea said. “We’re recycling newspaper. We’re moving forward on recycling oil and tires. But no one wants to touch diapers.”
Killea also said her staff called 266 child care centers and found that 26% refused to take children whose parents prefer cloth diapers.
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