Sustainable Diaper Service Model | Master Thesis | MA Sustainable Design

I have been meaning to share my thesis work for a long time now, but sometimes life takes over and all of a sudden it is the beginning of a new year. For those of you who don't know, I graduated with an MA in Sustainable Design in 2017.

So here it is! 

It all started, when I came to the realization that there is no true sustainable way of diapering, because both disposable and cloth-diapering methods are not fully sustainable. This includes cloth diapering at home and at a cloth diapering service. After all, there are simply different sustainable problems that arise from them:

Issues With Disposable Diapering

• Diapers create waste
• Even "biodegradable" diapers end up in landfills, where they can't degrade, because nothing degrades in a landfill
• Materials of diapers such as dioxin pose health risks

Issues With Cloth Diapering

• Heavy water usage in the cleaning process 
• ​Energy usage in the cleaning process 
• Toxins in common laundry detergent
• Human waste management
• Negative environmental impact from transport of diapers (just at a diaper service)

So, I set out to find solutions to these problems and I developed and designed a sustainable service model in order to reduce and/or eliminate negative environmental impact surrounding disposable and cloth diapers.
In short, I came up with the following solutions:

1. Implementation of a Closed Loop Cleaning and Waste Water Management System 

• Utilization of a rainwater collection system
• Adding a living machine to the service

 2. Utilization of Renewable Energy in form of solar power

• In cleaning process 
• In drying process
• In transportation process

3. Considering Material Health of Diapers as well as Safety of Laundry Detergent
(After all choosing detergents and cloth diapers without health-damaging substances ensures social sustainability)

4. Designing an Electric Vehicle and Cargo Bicycle Transportation System

As a result the benefits of this model are:
        +  NO Water Eutrophication
        +  MINIMAL Fresh Water Depletion
        +  NO Fresh Water Ecotoxicity
        +  LESS Health Damaging Substances
        +  LESS Fossil Fuel Depletion
        +  LESS Climate Change

It is important to implement strategies to improve the ecological footprint from diapering. Even though the ideas described in the thesis project are about a diaper service, certain aspects can be applied at home. For instance people could use a grey water recycling system to wash cloth diapers and they can line dry the diapers instead of running a dryer. Additionally, home owners can install solar panels to generate the electricity needed. 

You can view my whole thesis below, which explains everything in detail.

Let me know if you have any comments or questions in regards to this project. I'd love to hear your thoughts!