We live in Perry, Florida, a community where pine trees are "cooked and bleached" into cellulose from which P&G's disposable diapers are made. We have pulpmill-contaminated drinking water, a polluted Floridan Aquifer, the most polluted river in Florida, the Fenholloway River, two species of fish which are changing sex, three species of deformed insects, dioxin-contaminated fish and seafood, the extinction of the Suwannee cooter in the river, no frogs, no birds, the 57th worst air in the nation, many illnesses and diseases among the people, and ten square miles of dead seagrasses where the Fenholloway meets the Gulf of Mexico. In addition to using unsustainable forestry practices, the company has drained the water recharge area of the county, has dried up all the creeks, streams, and springs, and caused tremendous environmental damage in general. that's what it takes to make those disposable diapers in this article. We used to say "stop chlorine, save jobs", but after twenty-something years of trying to encourage P&G/Buckeye to clean up its mess, now our mantra is "Clean it up, or close it down". People and the environment here are suffering to a degree that P&G should be ashamed of - yet their profits dictate that our county remain a "sacrifice area". The cellulose produced here goes into P&G disposable diapers, sanitary napkins, filters, sausage casings, food additives, rayon, and many other products. Now the mill is getting rid of its toxic sludge by mixing it with mulch and selling it as a "soil amendment product" or compost for consumers to grow their gardens and tomato plants in, making a profit off their toxic waste at the cost of your health, not just ours in this poor, sad, sick community.

The information you've posted here is astonishing...we live in Tallahassee, Florida just an hours drive north of Perry, Florida. I'm not educated in the environmental field and almost didn't post anything...like so many, I feel like just another (and I use this term affectionately) "schmuck" who is concerned but at a loss as to how to help. With a fifteen month old, I am absolutely guilty of contributing to the diaper production problem. I guess it comes to education of the consumers who can purchase diapers produced in a more environmentally friendly manner. The key will be cost, quality and availability...I intend to research the subject further. Thanks for enlightening me. - Virginia Mansouri

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