cloth nappies

http://www.econappies.co.nz/cloth-nappies-debate.html this has some sums of the cost to the enviroment and to parents pockets (also a great site 'cos its in NZ dollars)

some interesting stuff i found here

Disposable diapers contain traces of Dioxin, an extremely toxic by-product of the paper-bleaching process. It is a carcinogenic chemical, listed by the EPA as the most toxic of all cancer-linked chemicals. It is banned in most countries, but not the U.S..1

Disposable diapers contain Tributyl-tin (TBT) - a toxic pollutant known to cause hormonal problems in humans and animals.2

Disposable diapers contain sodium polyacrylate (SAP), which becomes a gel-like substance when wet. This chemical can cause skin irritations and severe allergic reactions including vomiting, staph infections and fever. SAP was banned from tampons in 1985 due to links to toxic shock syndrome.3

Based on these calculations, if we multiply the 8.8 million babies in disposable diapers by an average cost of $800 a year, we find that Americans spend about 7 billion dollars on disposable diapers every year. If every one of those families switched to home-laundered cloth prefold diapers, they would save more than $6 billion¹⁴, enough to feed about 2.5 million American children for an entire year¹⁵. Coincidentally, the 2002 U.S. Census reveals that 2.3 million children under 6 live in poverty¹⁶.

Over 300 pounds of wood, 50 pounds of petroleum feedstocks and 20 pounds of chlorine are used to produce disposable diapers for one baby EACH YEAR.6