Disposable nappies thrown in your dustbin are buried in Essex
landfill sites.
Over a third of a million disposable nappies are buried in Essex
landfill sites every day!
No one knows how long it takes for the plastic parts of a
disposable nappy to decompose. Estimations of a few hundred years
have been suggested, which means the first ever disposable nappy
made is still lying around somewhere.
All nappies have some environmental impact but you can reduce
nappy waste going to a landfill site by using cloth nappies.
Although there have been no scientific trials, both parents and
health professionals have recognised that a child in cloth nappies
becomes potty trained far sooner than those in disposables. This is
because the child is able to feel some wetness: this awareness acts
as a stimulant to encourage your child to use a potty.
The Essex Real Nappy Campaign was established in
2000 to encourage parents and carers to try cloth nappies as an
alternative to disposable nappies. The campaign has evolved into a
continual educational campaign, helping to raise awareness
throughout Essex. This ongoing work was recognised nationally in
2002 when the campaign won the silver award for 'environmental best
practice' at the CIWM Green Apple Awards.
The campaign aims to reduce the amount of nappies in the Essex
waste stream by increasing the use of cloth nappies, raise
awareness through education of the environmental issues associated
with the use of nappies and overcome the perception the cloth
nappies are old fashioned and less effective than disposables.
By using cloth nappies from birth to potty
training, you could save yourself up to £500 compared to the cost
of using disposables! Despite these savings the initial outlay for
purchasing cloth nappies upfront, can be off-putting. So, to give
you a helping hand Essex County Council, Southend Borough Council
and Thurrock Council have joined forces to offer financial
assistance to Essex parents.
More information on using cloth nappies and the
Essex County Council voucher promotion is available via this
link.
The information on this page is reproduced from
the Essex County Council web
site.