now babies can save the planet

i know this is a little off topic, because it hasnt appeared in a social report (yet!), but i couldnt resist this article which appeared in the Times which starts like this :

"A scheme to recycle thousands of tonnes of used disposable nappies into everything from tiles to bicycle helmets and, eventually, to extract methane from them to generate energy is about to start. "

It's that methane thing again. First it comes out of cows mouths and now it's about babies backsides. Recycling used nappies, including the plastics, superabsorbent polymers, fibres, cellulose and other materials, now BABIES can save the planet. Isnt that neat? We create a fast-paced, consumer society that excesses in its consumption of consumer products and then we build multi-million $ recycling plants to counter the negative impacts of such consumerism and unsustainable lifestyles. I wonder what the methane-footprint of a four massive recycling plants all over England by 2011 will be ?

But, now moms can feel relaxed about Pamper-ing their toddlers (pun intended) whilst giving them lots of Huggies (another pun intended).

Some facts from the Knowaste UK website:

• In the UK around 8 million disposable nappies are used every day and one baby's disposable nappies fill 40 black sacks in a year
• At least four-and-a-half trees are needed to produce the disposable nappies for one baby Disposable nappies may take up to 500 years to decompose, essentially making them present in our landfills forever
• For every tonne of nappy waste recycled, 400kg of wood, 145 cubic metres of natural gas and 8,700 cubic metres of water is saved

So, next time you wear a motor-cycle helmet, just think whose little peach-like soft silky bottom it was hugging before it became your helmet.

Actually, if we combine the methane-inhibiting plans to reduce cows burping, together with the plans for recyling nappy waste, we could have no-waste non-burbing babies that are both adorable and a credit to the planet. So moms and farmers, get your heads together and reduce and recycle all that methane - just think what a wonderful sustainable world you are creating. Perhaps farmers could also start using disposable nappies for cows. Just think how much recycling material that could create ! wow. The possiblilities are endless. No sh**t!