Would you put this in your compost?

[ambivamom]

We use the Costco/Kirkland brand of baby wipes sometimes and they are made from Tencel, which is biodegradable (made from eucalyptus leaves).

However, according to a person who wrote me back from Costco, the ingredients added to them, are:


Ingredient Descriptors

Water: Major ingredient used as solvent for water soluble ingredients in solution.

Propylene Glycol: Provides softness and cushiony feel on skin.

Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice: A botanical long known for its’ soothing benefits to the skin. Hydrates and softens dry, sensitive skin.

Tocopheryl Acetate: A derivative of Vitamin E, used as an ingredient in skin care, cosmetic and hair care products as an anti-oxidant and moisturizing agent.

PEG-75 Lanolin: An emollient used in personal care products as a moisturizing and conditioning agent for hair and skin.

Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate: A mild cleansing agent derived from coconut oil that is often used as the standard for mildness for low irritation baby shampoos and skin cleansers.

Polysorbate 20: A cleansing agent that is used to disperse and emulsify oil in water liquids.

Citric Acid: Used as a pH buffer in formulations.

Disodium Phosphate: Used as a pH buffer in formulations.

Disodium EDTA: A chelating agent used in cosmetic products to enhance product stability.

2-Bromo-2-Nitropropane-1,3-Diol: Preservative agent.

Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate: Preservative agent.


The last two are the most obvious concerns. I know that worms can neutralize a lot of chemicals....this is our first year composting antyhing besides food scraps, and the finished compost will be used on our famiy gardens.

[lucifugous]

No way! The PEG- and the preservatives at the end would be dealbreakers for me. I would compost Tushies wipes.

ETA: In the future you could find info about ingredients at the EWG's Skindeep database.

[JamieCatheryn]

Preservatives are meant to discourage microbes, and in compost what you want is good aerobic bacteria breaking down stuff. Nope not in the compost.

[ambivamom]

Yeah... I forgot to say that, after reading the ingredient list I was not planning to put them in without washing them first. I got the idea to wash them when some went through with the cloth diapres. They hold up fairly well in the wash, but there's no way to tell for sure if the yuck stuff washed away, I guess?

Oh well, I have gotten lazy about using wipes too much anyway. Back to washcloths at home full time.

In the future you could find info about ingredients at the EWG's Skindeep database.

Thanks for the suggestion.
Here is the link to that, for those at home!
http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/