Eco-Friendly Potty Options

There’s news in the DeForbes household: Sofie has officially proclaimed herself a Big Girl. After several weeks of focused potty learning, Sofie, Mike and I are celebrating this milestone. Not just for developmental reasons but for the eco ones too:

I never have to buy disposable diapers again.

Okay, she’s still wearing a pull-up at night, but I have immediate plans to buy a few pairs of waterproof underwear so that I never have to buy disposable diapers again. Yay! That’s less plastic pull-ups in the landfill!

The whole potty learning process went quite smoothly. Sofie was an eager pupil who moved at her own pace with lots of encouragement from me, Daddy, her teachers and Elmo. She just loves her potty (wherever the location), but mostly she loves being a Big Girl. She enjoys peeing at the same time I do, reading while on her potty, and she takes great care in making daily selections of her Dora and Princess underwear.

Now that we’ve got the basics down, we’re working on details like toilet paper quantity. I’ve informed Sofie that trees are cut down in order to make toilet paper. However, my two-and-a-half-year-old doesn’t seem too bothered by this. Right now she vacillates between rolling off a huge wad of toilet paper to tearing off a piece no bigger than her nose.

The eco-friendly Beco Potty

Unfortunately, I did not do any green research before buying our potties. I wish I had, because look what I found from Beco — a biodegradable potty made from plant waste – it lasts for several years and when you’re done, you plant it in your garden! So cute! Those Brits are always one eco-step ahead of us.

Other options? Safety 1st even has an environmentally friendly line of products, including a 3-in-1 potty made from bioplastics and easily accessible from Walmart. Or check out this natural bamboo potty seat.

I hope, at least, to recycle our potties by passing them on to my niece. Or perhaps find some way to cleverly disguise them as planters in the garden.

Meanwhile I get to enjoy those moments when Big Girl Sofie wanders into the bathroom to observe and comment on my potty-using. “You pooped!” she exclaims with glee. “Good job, Mommy!”