When Kristina Figueroa gave birth to son Teigan a year ago, she and husband Blue wanted to put him in cloth diapers, saving the landfill from a ton of disposable diapers by the time he’s potty trained. Since no one in town offered a diaper service for cleaning, she figured she’d do it herself, and formed Eco Tots Diaper Service.

Today she hopes to add to her 12 clients, for whom she brings a fresh set of 70 cloth diapers once a week and hauls off the dirties to a laundry service. The charge is $25 a week for Grants Pass residents, slightly higher for out of town.

“I just wanted to contribute. I felt the smallest thing I could do was keep his diapers out of the landfill,” Figueroa said. “It’s getting more popular. People are becoming more aware of what they can do to make the environment a better place.”

According to the National Association of Diaper Services, 18 billion disposable diapers are thrown in landfills every year. They take 500 years to decompose, and Figueroa points out that raw sewage in diapers trickles into ground and surface water. “When they first made disposable diapers, they were supposed to be for occasional use,” she said. “People got lazy.”

Figueroa said sometimes parents leave disposables on their children for too long, and chemicals in the diapers aren’t healthy for babies. She believes babies become potty trained more quickly using cloth diapers. The National Association of Diaper Services echoes that — 24 to 30 months instead of 36 to 42 months.

“Teigan knows when he’s wet,” she said. The cloth diaper has come a long way from hosing them off in buckets and securing them with safety pins. Eco Tots uses diaper covers or wraps, which cinch up the cloth diaper with Velcro just as securely as disposables with adhesive tabs.

Some question the fact that it takes energy to launder the diapers, but Figueroa pointed out manufacturing disposable diapers uses 3.5 times as much energy.

She called all around the country to find the best way to wash the diapers, and now uses two environmentally friendly soaps. The laundering is done at high heat to kill any bacteria or other harmful pathogens.

Last week Figueroa got together with Mary Pool, who sells cloth diapers and accessories on her web site www.puddlesplace.com. They hope to set up a cloth diaper workshop to educate young parents, probably in the fall because Figueroa is expecting her second child this summer.

Pool started selling cloth diapers about five years ago after the birth of her second child, for economic reasons. Instead of paying $2,000 a year for disposables and baby wipes she found she could spend $500 on the cloth diapers, and wash them herself. But now she’s just as committed to the ecological benefits.

For $25 a week using Figueroa’s service, the annual cost would be $1,300, with the benefit of having the diapers washed for you.

“We’re hoping to work together,” Pool said. “We’re excited to bring cloth awareness to our community. Our goal is to just educate people.” Those interested in Eco Tots may call Figueroa at 660- 3331, or visit the Web site at www.ecototsdiaperservice.com. To contact Pool’s company for a free diaper consultation, call (888) 503-0822.