Waste Reduction in Children's Day Care: Case Study Report of Gretchen's House III

Abstract

This case study documents solid waste reduction achieved by the conversion from disposable to reusable cloth diapers at Gretchen's House III day care center in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Process, economic, and organizational/motivational analyses were conducted so that waste reduction resulting from cloth diaper use could be transferred to other day care centers, day care homes, nursery schools, households, pediatric hospital, and nursing homes for adult incontinents. The scope of this investigation was limited to solid waste reduction from the perspective of the day care center; life cycle environmental impacts and risks from raw materials extraction and manufacturing were not studied.