Women's Environmental Network
Real Nappy Schemes -
Promoting Waste Prevention Through Partnership

This index has been compiled with the generous co-operation of the many organisations involved in real nappy partnerships. WEN would like to thank everyone who participated in its creation. The information published has been provided by the 'partnerships' and there are not yet any national standard methods for information gathering and calculations. Publication here does not imply endorsement by WEN of any particular methodology.

If you are actively promoting real nappies in partnership with another organisation and would like your scheme to be included in our index please e-mail nappies@wen.org.uk

 Funded by

Real Nappy Project
Areas Served Cambridgeshire
Type of Scheme
Start Year
End Year

New Real Nappy Users

No. of Temporary Jobs
No. of Permanent Jobs
Waste Prevented (tonnes)
Money Saved on Expenditure
Money Saved on Disposal 

Partners
Cambridgeshire Real Nappy Network Contact: Helen Coupe Tel: Email: helenandmartin@btinternet.com

Peterborough City Council

Fenland Community Laundry Service

Eco-Babes Ltd

Cambridge City Council

Fenland District Council

Huntingdonshire District Council

South Cambridgeshire District Council

East Cambridgeshire District Council

Cambridgeshire County Council

Notes
Funding: 
Two years’ core funding from WREN (Waste Recycling Environmental), ended June 2004.
One year’s core funding from the CRED (Community Recycling and Economic Development) scheme started September 2004.
Ongoing funding from the four district councils, plus Cambridge City Council and now Peterborough City Council, to fund free trial scheme.
Ongoing funding from Cambridgeshire County Council.
Funding from the SEED (Social, Economic and Environmental Development) Fund for free nappy giveaway in Cambridge Surestart area.
Funding from Ecover to support free trial scheme.
Funding from CCORRN.

Aims:
The Cambridgeshire Real Nappy Network exists to promote the use of washable nappies and thus reduce the amount of disposable nappy waste going to landfill. There is a scarcity of information on cloth nappies and many parents and carers do not realise that there is an alternative to disposables. The Network aims to redress this imbalance; to provide parents, parents-to-be and carers with the information, advice and support they need to enable them to make an informed choice about which type of nappy to use.

Scheme History:
In 1999 two mothers contacted Cambridge City Council to ask what they were doing for Real Nappy Week. A meeting was set up between the three parties, plus Cambridgeshire County Council, and the CRNN was formed. The two councils funded promotional materials over the next two years to enable the CRNN to carry out awareness raising campaigns. In 2001 a partnership was formed with the nappy retailer Eco-babes and East Cambridgeshire District Council to run a free trial scheme whereby residents of East Cambridgeshire could borrow a selection of real nappies to use in their own home for two weeks. Shortly afterwards, with the help of the County Council, the CRNN managed to secure major funding from WREN to enable it to employ a dedicated Project Worker and expand its activities. Promotional activities have grown as a
result, and the free trial scheme has since been rolled out to the other councils within Cambridgeshire and is about to be launched in the sole remaining area of Peterborough.

Scheme:
Cambridgeshire Real Nappy Network works in partnership with the district and city councils of Cambridgeshire to promote washable nappies to parents and parents-to-be across the county through a successful free trial scheme, helpline, attendance at ante- and post-natal classes and relevant events, demonstrations, advertisements and distribution of promotional materials.

Recently the CRNN has been able to target areas of deprivation with a grant from the SEED Fund to enable it to give away packs of cloth nappies with information, demonstrations and support, to parents living in the Surestart area of Cambridge. This is intended to be a pilot scheme that can be replicated in other Surestart and similar areas.

Promotion:
The project as a whole, and the free trial scheme in particular, is promoted through demonstrations by a team of Nappy Advisors (who are all parents who use or have used real nappies) at antenatal classes and similar groups across the county. Promotional literature has been produced – an A4 ‘Guide to Real Nappies’, free trial leaflets, a Health Professionals guide, and a list of Cambridgeshire stockists. Media coverage is obtained. A free newsletter is produced quarterly; it is sent to everyone on the database, is available from the Daily Bread Co-operative in Cambridge, and distributed at roadshows and demonstrations. Events are also promoted and volunteers sought through an email newsletter, which goes out approximately monthly.

Scheme Monitoring:
The take up of the free trial scheme is monitored and feedback is obtained regarding the numbers of people who start to use real nappies having had a trial kit.

Figures of attendees at demonstrations are kept, and a questionnaire is completed by attendees – responses to the questions are analysed to produce feedback on the effectiveness and informativeness of the demonstrations.

During Real Nappy Week a questionnaire is completed by visitors to the roadshow.

Feedback from people on the database has been obtained and used to produce information on the use of cloth nappies around the county.

Achievements:
The figures from feedback calls to parents indicate that around 60% of those who take the free trial scheme go on to use real nappies. Over the year March 2003 – March 2004 this equated to 148 families.To this can be added the 86 households on the database who use washable nappies without participating in the trial, giving a total of 234. With the average household waste figure of 16kg per week (DEFRA 2001/2), and the proportion of waste of a household with a baby using disposable nappies estimated to be 50% (WEN 2003), this equates to approximately 97 tonnes of waste diverted from landfill per annum as a result of the free trial scheme and other publicity. This is likely to be a minimum figure, since there may be many more parents who choose to use cloth nappies as a result of our activities, but who never contact us and as a result do not appear on our database and our not included in our figures.

From a questionnaire completed by 264 people, 80% reported that seeing a presentation at an antenatal class or other group had influenced their perception of real nappies. Over 40% of these people said they were more likely to use cloth as a result of the presentation.

In early 2004 a survey was carried out on the people on the CRNN database. Of the 235 people questioned, around half said they now use cloth nappies.

The questionnaire included with the prize draw during Real Nappy Week was completed by 52 people. Half of these had already heard of the free trial scheme, indicating that publicity is having an effect. Over 90% of people reported that their perception of real nappies had been changed by what they had seen on the Real Nappy Roadshow.

Two part time jobs have so far been created through the scheme, plus occasional work for a team of around 10 Nappy Advisors.

Benefits of the Scheme for partners involved:
The district councils have benefited from reduced landfill costs due to waste diversion. SureStart Cambridge is benefiting from its residents receiving free cloth nappies in the SEED giveaway scheme. This means that residents in this area of Cambridge City will benefit financially, having a proportion of their income freed.

The councils are benefiting from the approval of the residents (from a question on a reply card included in each free trial kit, 95% of people thought that councils should be helping to organise and fund this type of project).

Eco-babes has benefited from exposure to potential customers. The FCLS, in taking over the free trial scheme, will have this benefit too.

Environmental Impact:
The CRNN has an environmental policy to ensure that its environmental impact is as low as possible. The employees work from home; recycled materials are used wherever possible; a countywide network of advisors has been constructed to reduce the travel required to attend antenatal classes etc.; car sharing is encouraged; and the CRNN has established a nappy exchange to promote the reuse of nappies for more than one child.

Future Plans:
The funding recently awarded by the CRED Programme will enable CRNN to continue current work and to expand into Peterborough, the only part of Cambridgeshire not currently covered by the free trial scheme. The Network hopes to replicate the free nappy giveaway to SureStart areas and similar projects within Peterborough.

The CRED award will also enable CRNN to switch the administration and laundry of its free trial scheme to the Fenland Community Laundry Service based in March. This will reduce the environmental impact of the scheme, (kits are currently stored in Durham and couriered to and from clients from there). Using the FCLS supports their policy of giving employmentand experience opportunities to adults with learning disabilities, and they also expect a part time job to be created as a result of taking on the trial scheme.

CRNN is also applying for funds from WRAP and is planning to purchase Resource Packs to distribute to midwives across the county. These kits will consist of a video, samples of cloth nappies and literature. It is intended that the midwives can

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