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

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.¹ The same amount of money would only buy 7 weeks of disposables.²

Health
Disposable nappies are made of superabsorbent chemicals, paper pulp, plastics and adhesives, while real nappies are mostly made of natural fabrics.³

If you want the best solution, organic cotton and hemp nappies and organic wool waterproof overpants are available at a reasonable cost.⁴

Waste
Nearly 3 billion nappies are thrown away in the UK every year.⁵ The vast majority of these (90%) end up in landfill.⁶

Nearly 8 million nappies are thrown away every day in the UK.⁷

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

With a nappy disposal cost to each local authority in hundreds of thousands of pounds per year (Nottinghamshire Council, for example, estimates over £1 million per year⁸ while Bristol City Council estimates a £500,000 cost.⁹) it is not surprising that nappy schemes now play a key role in local authorities' waste strategies.¹⁰

Landfill space is running out. In addition, the European Landfill Directive and national government policies are driving local authorities to reduce the amount of municipal waste sent to landfill.¹¹ The local authorities are struggling to stop waste amounts increasing, and so pressure is increased to turn to alternatives such as incineration .¹²

Incineration is not a trouble free solution¹³ and emissions from incinerators cause controversy wherever they are sited.

Waste prevention at source is the most effective way of reducing our rubbish. The Cabinet Office Strategy Unit’s stressed the importance of promoting real nappies: 'Even modest initiatives to displace disposable nappy use with reusable nappies can have a significant waste minimisation impact.'¹⁴ This has been taken up by Defra who have backed a scheme to promote real nappies .¹⁵

Environmental impact
All nappies have an environmental impact. The only way parents can reduce environmental impact when using disposable nappies is to use fewer nappies. When paediatricians suggest ten to twelve changes a day in the early weeks, reducing to around six a day later on, to further reduce the number of nappy changes is not good health practice. Using real nappies puts parents in control.

Ten top tips to help the environment:

• Use an energy efficient washing machine


• Wash soiled nappies at 60^oC


• Wash wet nappies and waterproof wraps at lower temperatures along with the rest of your laundry


• Avoid tumble drying – hang nappies out to dry or use an airer


• Avoid soaking – store nappies dry in a lidded bucket


• Avoid using unnecessary chemicals such as conditioners and sanitizers


• Use eco-detergent


• Never iron nappies or wraps


• Extend the life of your nappies - reuse them on another baby, or give/sell them to someone else


• Use washable liners

References
¹ Boots own brand terry nappies x 20, plus 24 pants, plus 6 fasteners, total £49.50 www.boots.com Mar 2005.

² From WEN research March 2006. At an average six changes per week at 16.8p per nappy: 16.8p x 6 changes/day x 7days/week x 7 weeks = £49.39

³ For example see www.snazzypants.co.uk or www.eco-babes.co.uk

⁴ Schmidt Natural Clothing, organic wrap around nappies available for £1.90 each + p&p

⁵ Disposable Nappies and Baby Wipes, Market Intelligence April 2004

⁶ Defra Statistical release 08/03/05 Municipal Waste Management Statistics 2003/04

⁷Disposable Nappies and Baby Wipes, Market Intelligence April 2004

⁸ Nottinghamshire County Council

⁹ The Recycling Consortium

¹⁰ Over three quarters UK local authorities (350+) supported Real Nappy Week in 2004. See Partnerships Index on this site for details of local authorities' real nappy promotions.

¹¹ Rethinking Rubbish in London - Highlights of the Mayor’s Municipal Waste Management Strategy, Greater London Authority September (2003:5)

¹² www.environmentagency.gov.uk March 2005

¹³ “Zero Waste”, Robin Murray, pp118-119 (2002) & “Cool Waste Management”, Greenpeace, (2003:3)

¹⁴ Waste Not Want Not, a strategy for tackling the waste problem in England, Strategy Unit Cabinet Office Nov 2002

¹⁵ Response to Strategy Unit Report “Waste Not Want Not”, Defra, (2003:14) www.defra.gov.uk/environment/waste/review/strategyunit_response.pdf