9 May 2005

Real Nappy Week campaign award up for grabs

Local and national organisations are already gearing up for Real Nappy Week 2005 (June 20-26) and this year, for the first time ever, there will be an award for the best local campaign of the Week.

Real Nappy Week 2005 is coordinated by Women’s Environmental Network (WEN) working with the Real Nappy Campaign to raise awareness of the disadvantages of disposable nappies and the availability of a real alternative. Funded by WRAP (the Waste & Resources Action Programme) the week aims to engage parents with a schedule of national, regional and local activities and enable them to make an informed choice of nappies.

Last year Real Nappy Week attracted record support, with more than three quarters of local authorities and over 100 MPs supporting it. 89 events took place in 62 counties across England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and the Isle of Man. They included nappy displays and roadshows as well as the ever-popular ‘Nappuccino’ coffee mornings with real nappy demonstrations.

This year not only are the Channel Islands involved for the first time, but Real Nappy Week has gone global. Groups in New Zealand, Australia, the US and Mexico are organising events to mark the week.

WEN’s Elizabeth Hartigan says, "Disposable nappies contribute a disproportionate amount of waste to landfill, with nearly eight million being thrown away every day in the UK. Converting parents to real nappy use can help local authorities meet their EU biodegradable waste reduction targets, which requires a reduction of 35% over 25 years. Real Nappy Week is a great opportunity to raise awareness of the great range of easy to use real nappies."

To get involved in Real Nappy Week and find out how to apply for a local campaigns award visit www.wen.org.uk/rnw/supporters.htm.

ENDS

Further media information: visit www.realnappycampaign.com, or contact Laura Jansen or Naomi Westland, Women’s Environmental Network, Tel: 020 7481 9004. Email: nappies3@wen.org.uk, comms2@wen.org.uk

Notes to editors:

Real Nappy Week, 20-26 June 2005 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. The Real Nappy Campaign will deliver a national educational programme of activity to raise awareness of washable real nappies, which will be supported throughout the week by regional and local activities across the UK co-ordinated by WEN. For more information on Real Nappy Week visit www.realnappycampaign.com

Waste: Britain throws away about 8 million nappies a day. With a disposal cost to individual local authorities in hundreds of thousands of pounds per year (Nottinghamshire estimates £1 million per year) it is not surprising that nappy schemes now play a key role in local authorities’ waste strategies.

Cost: WEN estimates that washing nappies at home could save parents around £500. Hospitals can save money too by using real nappies on wards where disposables incur clinical waste charges. Local authorities save on waste disposal charges.

Modern nappies have advanced considerably over recent years. They are shaped and fitted and fastened without the need for pins. They come in a variety of styles and patterns. A biodegradable liner can be used inside the nappy and this can be removed so that the contents are flushed down the loo. Nappy washing services make things even easier, collecting dirty nappies and leaving fresh clean ones in their place.

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, chemicals and the environmental impacts of disposable sanitary and continence protection. www.wen.org.uk email nappies@wen.org.uk tel: 020 7481 9004 fax: 020 7481 9144

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

WRAP has laid down targets across twelve programmes. Nine are focused on market development, and comprise six material streams (Paper, Plastics, Glass, Wood, Organics and Aggregates) 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.

Part of WRAP’s Waste Minimisation work, the Real Nappy Campaign is an element of the Real Nappy Programme, which is focused on helping parents to make an informed choice about nappies and increasing the visibility of real nappies. Its targets are to convert an additional 155,000 households to real nappy use, and in the process divert 35,000 tonnes per annum of disposable nappy waste from landfill.

Information on all of WRAP’s activities is available at www.wrap.org.uk and details of its Recycle Now campaign can be found at www.recyclenow.com. For more information on WEN’s campaigns go to www.wen.org.uk