22nd to 28th April 2002 is REAL NAPPY WEEK focusing attention on the environmental effects of nappies and promoting fair choice for UK parents.

This ground breaking campaign is leading the way in waste reduction in the UK with the potential to save the UK tax payer at least £40 million a year on nappy rubbish collection and disposal. Environmental benefits are increasingly obvious as landfill capacity runs out, controversial incinerator sites are sought and waste reduction becomes a priority.

On 25th April 2002 The Real Nappy Project at Women's Environmental Network will hold the Real Nappy Week Awards 2002 - Celebrating Working Partnerships at the House of Commons. The Awards are being held for the first time this year in recognition of the importance of partnership in achieving practical waste prevention. All around the UK local authorities, hospitals, local businesses and campaigners are working together to promote real nappies.

Creating Jobs
Not only do real nappies save money, reduce waste and benefit the environment but they also boost the economy by creating local jobs. In the first five months of the real nappy partnership operating in Kent, 500 families started using real nappies creating four business opportunities and nine part-time jobs.

The expanding nappy service industry has been primarily developed by women for women. Having used real nappies for their own children, some mothers are so keen to spread the word about this healthy, environmentally friendly and economic option that they have set up their own nappy businesses. Some import and manufacture cloth nappies and waterproof wraps, others run nappy laundry services, even more act as nappy sales agents distributing a wide variety of real nappies for washing at home. Not surprisingly, many nappy industry jobs are family friendly, fitting in and around the demands of parenthood. Part time jobs are commonplace and flexibility is the nature of the profession.

This service industry recognises the many demands on new parents. Nappy laundry services take the work out of using real nappies, delivering a pile of freshly laundered nappies to your door and taking away the soiled ones to be washed. Nappy sales agents visit your home to demonstrate the different styles of cloth nappies and help you make the choice to suit your baby, lifestyle and budget. They also provide a comprehensive back up service.

Maeve Murphy of the Real Nappy Project said "You are on a steep learning curve with a new baby and need all the help and support you can get. The real nappy service industry has been set up by people who understand this and cater for the needs of new parents."

Real nappies don't cost the earth…anything else is just rubbish!

For further information contact: Elizabeth Hartigan, Maeve Murphy or Liz Sutton
Tel: 020 7481 9004 Fax: 020 7481 9144 email:nappies@wen.org.uk

NOTES TO EDITORS

Real Nappy Week, now a well-established annual event, is jointly organised by Women's Environmental Network's Real Nappy Project, the Real Nappy Association and the National Association of Nappy Services (NANS). The week focuses attention on the environmental impact of nappies and raises public awareness of the availability of convenient shaped and fitted modern cloth nappies and nappy laundry services.

Waste Reduction
Responsible for 4% of household waste in the UK, nappies provide a prime opportunity to reduce the rubbish in our dustbins. 3 billion nappies are thrown away every year in the UK. Nappies make up 50% of the waste from a household with just one baby so families can cut their waste in half by using real nappies. With the cost to each local authority in hundreds of thousands of pounds per year on disposal (Bristol City, for example, spends £500,000 per year) it is not surprising that nappy schemes now play a key role in local authorities' waste strategies.

Waste Disposal
Each year Britain throws away enough rubbish to bury Edinburgh a metre deep. Landfill space is running out. Many local authorities are struggling to stop waste amounts increasing and many more incinerators are planned to meet the Landfill Directive. Incineration is not a trouble free solution. The emissions from incinerators cause controversy wherever they are sited and up to 30% of the waste remains as ash to be disposed of in landfill. Waste prevention at source is the most effective way of reducing our rubbish.

Cost
Parents can save £500 - £1,250 on the cost of keeping a baby in nappies. You can kit out your baby in real nappies on the high street for under £70. This includes all the nappies and waterproof covers you will need for the whole of your baby's nappy wearing life. The same amount of money will only buy your baby's first ten to twelve weeks of disposables. Even taking into account the total cost of laundering nappies at home, about £33 a year, the savings are still considerable.

Health
Why put your baby's bottom in a complex chemical environment when you have the option of a natural product? Disposable nappies are made of superabsorbent chemicals, paper pulp and plastics while real nappies are manufactured using natural fabrics. If you want the best solution, free of pesticides and other synthetic chemicals, organic cotton and hemp nappies and organic wool waterproof overpants are available at reasonable cost.