But these are Happy Nappy diapers, which makes all the difference.

The new diaper delivery service is now up and running, with a bubblegum pink van on the road to boot.

And the Blouins’s timing is impeccable in light of a baby boom of sorts in the region — the newborn population is up 32 per cent — as well as heightened environmental awareness among residents and a switch to a biweekly garbage pick up.

A neighbour at their west coast home initially turned the Blouins on to Happy Nappy last spring and it quickly sent them back to Oakville to pursue the franchise.

At the same time, the region’s green cart program rolled out, altering garbage pick up to an every-other-week service. Peter recalls reading a lot of letters in the Oakville Beaver at the time, from residents angry about the change.

“Parents with newborns certainly didn’t want dirty disposable diapers lingering in their garbage cans for two weeks,” he said.

In comes Happy Nappy with high-tech fabric diapers that are as equally absorbent as disposables without the harmful chemicals.

For the price of a package of the throwaway version Happy Nappy delivers a weekly supply of diapers in re-usable sacks no less, to customers’ door steps, and picks up and washes them to a sanitized state. It means less laundry and more convenience for busy, sleep-deprived parents.

Caregivers simply drop the drawstring reusable bag inside a Happy Nappy pail, which comes complete with a charcoal filter in the lid to keep odours from the soiled diapers at bay. At the end of the week, tie the string on the bag and leave it on the porch for pick up when the driver will also drop off a freshly laundered set.

It’s a far more ecologically sound practice than discarding dirty diapers, added Anne-Marie. Disposable diapers comprise the third most amount of waste in Canada’s landfills, as four million are discarded each day. Four full-grown trees are used and over 600 kilograms of waste are generated to keep a baby in disposable diapers.

“We have a passion for trying to do good for everyone concerned,” said Peter.

Happy Nappy diapers come in three sizes: newborn, medium and large, each with adjustable snaps and gently elasticized at the legs.

Happy Nappy provides 70 diapers per week for a newborn and fewer as babies grow, but numbers can be adjusted up or down, according to customer’s needs, said Anne-Marie. The price for one child is $29.47 with discounts for multiple children.

The local franchise, which stretches across Brampton, Waterdown, Burlington, Milton, Oakville and Mississauga, is the seventh added to the Canadian company that started four years ago. For more information, call Happy Nappy at 905-827-1021 or visit www.happynappy.ca .