Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar has won the small campaigns category and £400 in the first ever Women’s Environmental Network’s (WEN) Real Nappy Week 2005 Campaign Awards.

Marina Fraser (far left) and Sharon Mackinnon (far right) from the Waste Aware Western Isles Team are seen here with Michaela Smith and colleagues from Minki Nappies at the real nappy fashion show in Stornaway during Real Nappy Week 2005

Sponsored by WRAP (the Waste & Resources Action Programme), the Awards have been established to recognise, reward and publicise the best local activities which contributed to Real Nappy Week.

Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar was among nearly 500 events which took place across the UK and as far afield as Mexico and New Zealand. The Week is co-ordinated by WEN working with the Real Nappy Campaign to raise awareness of the benefits of real nappies and the waste created by disposables.

With categories for both small and large campaigns, the judges were looking for the most effective campaigns to promote the use of real nappies. “We were impressed by how innovative and extensive the events and activities were, which made Real Nappy Week 2005 such an astounding success,” said award judge, Laura Jansen, of WEN. “Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar’s campaign was a great example of promotion in a geographically diverse community.”

Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar’s Real Nappy Week campaign included a fashion show as well as various demonstrations and information events. “We are really delighted and honoured to have been chosen as the winner in the small campaigns category,” said Marina Fraser, Campaign Coordinator. “We are keen to use the award to help continue our work to promote real nappies across the Western Isles.”

Real Nappy Week 2005 was supported by over 80% of UK local authorities. Real nappies have come a long way from terries and pins. Today there is a wide range of modern shaped, fitted real nappies in a variety of attractive designs and styles which are easy to use and simple to wash.

ENDS
For more media information contact Laura Jansen or Biba Hartigan on 020 7481 9004, nappies3@wen.org.uk

Notes to editors

Winners: The winner of the large campaigns category, the Notts Nappy Project went on to win overall winner in the Awards. The Bucks Real Nappy Initiative and the Wiltshire Real Nappy Network were both runners up in the large campaigns category, whilst a highly commended award went to Brighton & Hove and East Sussex Real Nappy Network, London Borough of Lambeth, Cumbria County Council, Wakefield Metropolitan District Council, Norfolk County Council, Essex County Council, Salisbury Real Nappy Network, the Cornish Real Nappy Project, Perth & Kinross Real Nappy Network, Wrexham County Borough Council, and Cath Bibby a volunteer in Sunderland.

Awards: The winners of the small and large campaigns categories each receive £400. The overall winner receives an additional £200.

Real Nappy Week, is the annual focus of the real nappy campaign, funded by WRAP (the Waste & Resources Action Programme) and co-ordinated by Women’s Environmental Network (WEN) working with the Real Nappy Campaign.

The aim is to engage with parents nationwide to help them make an informed choice about real nappies and single-use disposables. For more information on Real Nappy Week visit www.wen.org.uk/rnw

Women’s Environmental Network (WEN) is a registered charity which campaigns on issues which link women, health and the environment. WEN has been involved in Real Nappy Week since its inception and has coordinated the week in its current form since 2000. Other current issues include food, toxic chemicals and the environmental impacts of disposable sanitary and continence protection.

Cost
Home laundered nappies could save parents around £500 on the cost of keeping a baby in nappies.

You can kit out your baby in real nappies on the high street for under £50. This includes all the nappies and waterproof covers you need for the whole of your baby's nappy wearing life. The same amount of money would only buy nine weeks of disposables.

Health
Disposable nappies are made of superabsorbent chemicals, paper pulp and plastics, while real nappies are mostly made of natural fabrics.

If you want the best solution, organic cotton and hemp nappies and organic wool waterproof overpants are available at a reasonable cost.

Waste
Nearly three billion nappies are thrown away in the UK every year. The vast majority of these (90%) end up in landfill.

Nearly eight million nappies are thrown away every day in the UK.

We do not know how long it takes for the plastics in disposable nappies to decompose but it could take hundreds of years.

WRAP
1. WRAP (the Waste & Resources Action Programme) is a major UK programme established to promote resource efficiency. Its particular focus is on creating stable and efficient markets for recycled materials and products and removing the barriers to waste minimisation, re-use and recycling.

2. A not-for-profit company in the private sector, WRAP is backed by substantial Government funding from Defra and the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

3. WRAP is currently running fifteen programmes. Twelve of them relate to market development, comprising nine material streams (Paper, Plastics, Glass, Wood, Organics, Aggregates, Tyres, Batteries and Plasterboard) and three generic areas (Business & Finance, Procurement, and Regional Market Development). Three further programmes relate to the wider resource efficiency remit - Collections, Communications and Awareness, and Waste Minimisation.

4. More information on all of WRAP’s programmes can be found at www.wrap.org.uk