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Notes
Funding:
In April 2000 the Notts
Nappy Project applied to Wren for £10,000 of Landfill Tax money
to start the Notts Nappy Project. This funding was awarded and has been
spent according to the business plan. The majority of expenditure has
been used to produce publicity material and funding the Notts Nappy Project
Trial.
Aims:
The Notts Nappy Project is a countywide campaign that was established
in 2001.The primary objective of the campaign is to reduce the amount
of disposable nappy waste that is sent for landfill / incineration each
year in Nottinghamshire.
The strategy used by the Notts Nappy Project to achieve its objectives
is to work with all interested parties such as the NHS Trust Hospitals,
child care providers, nappy retail companies, environmental / charitable
organisations and the media to inform all parents and carers about the
benefits of using cotton nappies.
Objectives:
To effectively promote the use of cotton nappies it is necessary to
understand the barriers that prevent parents from using cotton. The Notts
Nappy Project partners began a 12-month cotton nappy research trial with
65 parents in June 2003 to investigate the range of issues surrounding
the use of cotton nappies.
The main objectives of the Nappy Trial were to:
· Enable measurable outcomes of household waste reduction
· Calculate the financial savings achieved by parents using cotton
nappies
· Gather information about parent’s experiences of using
cotton
· Research any potential barriers
· Build up a database of information on different brands / types
of cotton nappies
· Establish a network of cotton nappy users
· Examine the way that different lifestyles impact on the use cotton
nappies
· Raise the profile of the Notts Nappy Project
To gather information from the parents they were requested to complete
a daily nappy diary as part of participating in the trial.
Scheme History:
The Notts Nappy Project was developed in 2001 to raise awareness of
cotton nappies and reduce the amount of disposable nappies landfilled
or incinerated. Over the last three to four years the project has focused
on raising awareness through:
· conducting presentations at antenatal classes
· providing articles for the newspapers, radio, television
· producing a leaflet which is distributed through the hospitals
· contacting nurseries / doctors surgeries to provide them with
information about the project
· developing a website
· hiring the Rethink Rubbish Dustbin
· cash back promotions
To develop the project further the Notts Nappy Trial was launched in June
2003 with 65 parents. The trial launch day was arranged to meet all parents
and inform them about how the trial would proceed. The launch was held
at County Hall and in the afternoon members of the public were invited
in to view / purchase a wide range of cotton nappies that were on sale.
Following consultation with parents participating on the trial the project
partners have run two further incentivised promotions.
In April 2004 the project ran a £15 cash back promotion on cotton
nappies. 85 parents participated in this promotion.
In July 2004 the last meeting was held for the Nappy Trial and this meeting
was used as a Sale Day and was open to the public. Parents who participated
in the trial had the opportunity to sell on unwanted cotton nappies to
new parents with smaller babies.
Parents that attended the Sale Day received a £20 cotton nappy cash
back voucher on the door. Claims from 79 parents for this promotion have
been received and approximately 200 people attended this event.
Scheme:
The Notts Nappy Project was initially launched as a promotional and
awareness raising campaign. The campaign targeted new parents / parents
to be through antenatal classes, Sure Start, community groups etc. providing
them with literature and practical demonstrations on using cotton nappies.
Over the past 3- 4 years the project has evolved especially with the launch
of the trial in June 2003.
After the commencement of the 12-month trial the project involved arranging
meetings every two months for the duration of the trial.
These meetings enabled mothers on the trial and any other interested parents
who wished to attend to find out more about using cotton nappies. At the
meetings refreshments were provided and parents would discuss any relevant
issues / difficulties they were experiencing.
As parents became familiar with using cotton different speakers were arranged
for the meetings. Inviting speakers enabled a range of related topics
to be discussed such as preparation of baby food, welfare benefits, nurseries'
approach to cotton nappies etc.
Parents on the Nappy Trial were entitled to an initial subsidy of 50%
of the cost towards the nappies they purchased or the nappy laundry service.
Parents purchased nappies or paid for the laundry service themselves.
At the meetings they would submit receipts along with their completed
diaries. Parents would be reimbursed with a cheque from Nottinghamshire
County Council.
At the end of the trial parents who return their nappies to Nottinghamshire
County Council (by 11th October 2004) are entitled to another 25% of the
purchase costs (total of 75% towards the cost of their nappies). Nappies
that are returned will be sent through a charity to be used by parents
in Romania. Parents who decide to keep their nappies will not receive
any further funding.
Promotion:
There has been a huge amount of interest in the Notts Nappy Project
throughout Nottinghamshire. Central Television came out to film the launch
of Real Nappy Week in March 2004 and April 2001 providing excellent coverage
on the news.
There has been extremely good coverage of the trial throughout the
past three years through other media such as the newspapers and radio
interviews.
The way the different media are used are listed below:
Notts Nappy Leaflet This leaflet provides information about the benefits
of using cotton nappies and about the project in Nottinghamshire. The
leaflet developed in 2001 has been updated and reprinted in 2004.
Project Mums Parents that participated in the 12 month Nappy Project Trial
have proved to be one of the best methods of advertising
Midwives / Health Visitors Through antenatal classes and home visits –
word of mouth
Promotional flyers (£15 Cash Back Voucher and £20 Nappy Sale
Day Voucher)
Bus Shelters (Real Nappy Week 2004)
Billboard Advertising (Real Nappy Week 2004)
Newspapers Both unpaid /paid advertising have taken place throughout the
year
Radio Both unpaid /paid advertising have taken place throughout the year
Website advertising (ongoing)
Nappy Video (Nottinghamshire has worked as part of a consortium with councils
in the Midlands to produce a Nappy video. This has been distributed to
hospitals to be shown in the antenatal classes)
Baby Shops Shops selling baby goods are used to display any promotional
posters or flyers
Nurseries are used to put up promotional posters / give out flyers
Scheme Monitoring:
a) Parents that participated in the 12-month trial filled in a daily
Nappy Diary. The process of deciding the best way to analyse the results
of the trial in order to produce a report of the research is under way.
b) To gauge the success of the cash back promotions parents that took
part in the £15 Cash Back Nappy Voucher have already been surveyed
and those parents that took part in the £20 Cash Back Sale Day Voucher
will be surveyed.
The effectiveness of promotions and of the Nappy Trial can be gauged from
the completed questionnaires and from the Nappy Diaries. Parents that
participate in promotions will be surveyed on an ongoing basis. A countywide
survey to ascertain how many parents in Nottinghamshire use cotton nappies
will be carried out.
Achievements:
To date the trial results are in the process of being analysed. However
through this trial 50 parents have been assisted to use cotton nappies
for the first 12 months of their child’s life. This has helped to
dramatically reduce the numbers of nappies sent to landfill from these
homes.
On a quick assessment of just three of the families on the trial:
Family A - only used cotton nappies
Family B - used cotton nappies through laundry service and disposables
Family C - family of twins using cotton and disposables
Family D – control disposable family
The data shows that 7851 nappies have already been diverted from landfill.
When all the data has been inputted it will be analysed in detail and
a full report produced.
There is a direct benefit in terms of local employment in the area through
the links with local businesses. Local businesses including a laundry
service, retailer and baby shops are directly supported. Firms that sell
through the Internet are also promoted.
As a direct result of the Notts Nappy Project one mother has set up her
own business retailing cotton nappies and another mother has become a
cotton nappy agent. Also there are other economic benefits to parents
who can save money through using re-useable nappies and this money can
be spent on more beneficial items for the baby.
Benefits of the Scheme for partners involved:
Nottinghamshire County Council (Reduction in disposable nappies sent to
landfill)
Nottingham City Council (Reduction in disposable nappies sent to landfill
Nottingham Green Partnerships (Reduction in disposable nappies sent to
landfill
Waste Recycling Environmental (Reduction in disposable nappies sent to
landfill
Women’s Environmental Network (Raise awareness of this organisation
and the support they provide)
National Childbirth Trust (Raise awareness of this organisation and the
support they provide for this work)
Queens Medical Centre Nottingham (Enable them to provide an informed choice
to the customer /reduce clinical waste cost if cotton is used on the wards
by mums)
Nottingham City Hospital As per QMC
Sherwood Forest Hospitals ( Kingsmill Hospital) As per QMC
Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals As per QMC
Environmental Impact:
The Notts Nappy Project widely promotes the use of the nappy laundry
service. Previous life cycle analysis research has shown that using a
laundry service has the least environmental impact associated with using
cotton nappies.
The Project encourages parents to minimise their impact on the environment
through:
· the use of more natural detergents to wash their nappies such
as Eco friendly washing powders
· the use of more natural soaking solutions such as tea tree oil
and white vinegar
· using the sun to dry / naturally bleach the nappies rather than
using washer dryers
· washing their nappies at 60ºC and not at unnecessary higher
temperatures
As part of the Notts Nappy Project Trial impact of transport was minimized
by holding meetings for parents in both the north and south of the County
in easily accessible venues. This policy helped to reduce the number of
private cars used and the miles traveled.
The Notts Nappy Project partners have sought to reduce the environmental
impact of this project through maximizing the environmental benefits of
using cotton nappies.
All householders in Nottinghamshire benefit from this project through:
· a reduction in the amount of disposable nappy waste that is produced
in Nottinghamshire and sent for disposal
· the opportunity for raising awareness about waste minimization
with parents to encourage them to adopt a more responsible attitude to
the rest of the waste that they produce.
Future Plans:
The future plans for the Notts Nappy Project are to:
· produce a full report of the results from the Notts Nappy Project
Trial. The production of this report will provide a good platform for
working with the NHS.
· develop a new comprehensive cotton nappy guide for parents. This
guide will be continually updated and distribution will be targeted at
new parents / carers.
· build a more official relationship with the NHS maternity hospitals
in Nottinghamshire and universities in order to instigate a training slot
as part of the midwifery and health visitor courses. Incorporating this
project as part of a training course will help to ensure that the existing
advisory role of health visitors and midwives will play a significant
part in carrying out the promotional aspect of the project.
· provide health visitors with samples of cotton nappies so that
they can practically demonstrate how these nappies can be used whilst
they give out the Notts Nappy Project Guide.
· to involve parents that have completed the trial in assisting
with future promotions along with the local nappy companies and other
interested workers.
· to work with Social Services to target young mothers to get involved
with this project.
· conduct a countywide survey to assess the number of parents that
use cotton nappies.
· to help set up Nappuccino community groups to provide regular
support for parents that choose to use cotton.
Local authorities/hospitals/NHS professionals
Departments involved in the scheme:
The Waste Management Section of the County Council and Nottingham City
Green Partnerships and Waste Management Section.
The Maternity Section of the four NHS hospitals.
WEN and the NCT employees also help to support this scheme.
Making all employees aware of this scheme is an ongoing process due to
the size of the organizations.
Other information:
Nottinghamshire has a population of 1.02 million including the residents
of Nottingham City. There are 750,000 residents that live in the seven
districts of Nottingham of which 4.35 % are from minority ethnic communities.
The City of Nottingham which is right in the heart of Nottinghamshire
has a population of 270,000 residents of which 18.5 per cent are from
minority ethnic communities. Each year there are approximately 11,000
born in Nottinghamshire.
The Notts Nappy Project therefore has an extremely valuable role to play
in diverting thousands of disposables nappies away from landfill each
day.
The Notts Nappy Project is a countywide campaign that encompasses the
City of Nottingham and the 7 Districts within the County. The Nappy Project
has adopted a partnership approach to tackling the issue of disposable
nappy waste. The Project partners believe that partnership working is
the most effective method of communicating the ‘Cotton On’
message
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