Can’t compost diapers here

Sobeys selling product anyway

One of Nova Scotia’s largest grocery chains is selling 100 per cent natural, fully compostable diapers.

But this could turn into one big stinky problem because no green bin or recycling program in the province accepts soiled diapers, even if they are compostable, an Environment Department spokesman said Wednesday.

So parents are left with only one option: placing these eco-friendly diapers in their regular garbage, just as they would any other disposable diaper.

Sobeys began selling Broody Chick natural diapers in select stores in November. Their price — $14.99 to $17.99 — is on par with other brand names.

Manufactured in Asia and distributed by Victoria-based Broody Chick Natural Products, the diapers are chlorine-free, hypoallergenic, fragrance-free and have natural absorbers.

Sobeys started selling the diapers because "we received customer inquiries for the product, primarily because it’s 100 per cent natural," Sobeys spokeswoman Jill Thomas Myrick said Thursday.

Once Sobeys became aware of the problem, they worked with their supplier to provide labelling that reflected this region.

"As a result . . . Broody Chick has now revised its packaging labelling," Thomas Myrick said.

Future shipments will now say "compostable in some municipal facilities, please check for acceptance in your local area."

In the meantime, Sobeys will be place stickers on the Broody Chick diaper boxes stating that they are not compostable.

Halifax Regional Municipality spokeswoman Shaune MacKinlay said the municipality was not aware that the diapers were being sold here until she received an inquiry about them from The Chronicle Herald.

"They would not be acceptable in green bins in HRM," MacKinlay said. "You cannot put any pet waste or human waste in our compost bins. These appear to be a recent addition to the market so we may have to do some education around that."

If soiled diapers are placed in green bins and show up at metro facilities, MacKinlay said they could contaminate the compost which is used in metro’s garden beds or sold for commercial use by landscapers.

Other regions, such as the City of Toronto, do collect dirty diapers, sanitary products, animal waste and kitty litter along with food waste in their green bin program. Toronto sends it all to a facility were it is turned into fertilizer for farmlands and parks.

Broody Chick diapers, wipes and associated textile products have just been certified to carry the Oeko-Tex standard 100 logo. In the textile manufacturing field, this certification is an internationally accepted standard that says there are no harmful chemicals in the diapers.

"Looking at what’s in them. They look to me to be a more environmentally friendly option as far as disposable diapers go," said April MacKinnon, a mother of two and owner of Nurtured Products for Parenting, a Halifax business that sells environmentally friendly products, including cloth diapers.

She said the Broody Chick diapers do not contain sodium polyacrylate, a gel that is in regular disposable diapers to help contain the spread of liquid.

"There are some safety and health concerns (about the gel), depending on the literature you read with regard to that particular product," she said.

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April MacKinnon, owner of Nurtured Products for Parenting, holds cloth diapers in her Halifax store on Friday.