The cloth nappy debate

It can be overwhelming to be mindful of every factor when it comes to environmental issues.
I have read online that disposable nappies take between 200-500 years to break down. And that in Australia alone we dispose of more than 5 million a year?!? An alternative is cloth nappies which ultimately save a disposable nappy from landfill but use other resources such as energy & water to clean them.
With this in mind, I use half & half disposable/cloth nappies with Dylan saving about 21 nappies from landfill a week. I did the same with Kobe until he was fully toilet trained. Cloth nappies is definitely not the easy road but its not hard fete either (though I have thrown out some nasty soiled cloth nappies that I gagged & could not bring myself to wash). I prefer cloth nappies at home (but not overnight sleep) & use disposables when out.
20 years ago when my sister had her babies she diapered them with the old school square towel nappies & a pin to secure them. I'm so lucky nowadays there are more variety in cloth nappies. I either use the all in one nappy with a mioliner (sort of like a paper liner that catches the poop making it easy to clean) which can be composted (but I bin them) or the nappy covers & line them with a bamboo or polyester/nylon (sadly a sythetic fabric) cloth liner which I wash with the cloth nappies.

*Bumgenius is my number one choice for cloth nappies. Available in velcro or snap button fasteners in a range of colours. I find it fits best to both my boys bottoms. Layered with organic cotton inserts. The snap button front allows you to shorten the nappy to fit a smaller baby however I leave it like a harry highpants.
*Bambino Mio. Love these. I use the Miosoft nappy cover with velcro fastening (with a liner). Covered by a thick layer of plastic so quite absorbent & easy to wipe. Liners are a mix of polyester & nylon which are both synthetics sadly. The Miosolo all in one nappy come in a range of patterns & the one size (adjustable snap buttons) fit from birth onwards. When Dylan starts potty training in a couple years, I will be getting him the potty training nappy.
*Peapods are so easy to use (Dylan is wearing the green one in the photo below). I use the one size nappy. The bamboo inserts go inside & can wash separately. Every now & then, these are soiled heavily (because I didn't put the extra nappy liner in) & the plastic coating inside even survived an overnight soak in hot water. They do attract a fair bit of fluff from the microfleece inside which seems to help keep the moisture in.
*Eenee designs. I use the pouch nappy pants which have a thin stretchy outer with a plastic clip on inside. I always insert a cloth liner. Its the least bulkiest cloth nappy which is great under pants. Easy to wipe & wash. I think it's great that their website has a section devoted to preloved nappies.
*Bambooty . I was baby gifted to Kobe & reused on Dylan the newborn easy nights all in one cloth nappy. So bright & comfortable. The inserts are sewn in & fold up. The only downer was both boys grew too fast for the smallest size. I definitely will be investing in more of these but in the larger size.
*Baby beehinds.  I use the bamboo fitted which comes with 2 bamboo clip in liners. This nappy did harden when I soaked it overnight in hot water. I found it quite bulky so I usually let Dylan wear it without pants or a nappy cover. Baby beehinds do sell water resistant & wool nappy covers but I haven't use them.

On another environmental note, did anyone else stumble across this article about over 1000kgs of wet wipes being cleaned (by a crane & also buckets) from a Queensland sewerage. I'm left scratching my head why anyone would flush a wet wipe?

** I sourced most of the cloth nappies I use from markets.
** To prevent mould, I try to airdry dirty nappies before I wash them, I dry them in the sun (as the sun is a natural bleacher) & I spritz some lavender oil on them while drying.
**Although I stand by using cloth nappies, my partner Luke & sister Annie dont like them. Their complaint is Dylan has leaked thru on a couple occasions while wearing a cloth nappy (thru to their clothes) but he has also done that wearing a disposable nappy.
** By using cloth nappies, I have an extra laundry load a week & I wash them with socks & underwear.

Happy Saturday friends!
Grace