Here at RNfL we appreciate the aim of Defra's recent Waste Review to set the UK on the path towards a zero waste economy. But we're surprised that although real nappies are the zero-waste alternative to 'disposable' nappies they don't appear to be on Defra's agenda. This is because, I've just found out, Defra still says; how people wash real nappies is a problem.
It’s been quite a shock to me actually. I know the Daily Mail still says 'reusables no better for tne environment than disposables’, but I thought Defra would have been aware that most real nappies these days are actually destroyed by washing at high temperatures.
So I see it as my job to do something about this and there is an opportunity. As part of the waste review Defra announced an ‘Innovative reward and recognition scheme’. This is an opportunity for Real Nappies for London to engage with Defra directly and make it clear that these days it's only a minority of people that boil and/or tumble-dry nappies.
Hopefully we can also ensure that Defra finds out how hard the real nappy industry has worked to develop eco-friendly products and raise awareness of the impacts of washing at high temperature and using environmentally damaging detergents - and most importantly, suggesting effective, environmentally friendly alternatives eg soap nuts, tea tree oil, white vinegar.
The real nappy industry has done so much in this area and it is disappointing that we dont appear to be appreciated for a) reducing waste and b) the spillover behaviour change we achieve – not just reducing waste in other areas, but also helping parents become more self-reliant and confident and thus less dependent on rubbish products that are a waste of money and unnecessary.
The UK needs to be a place where the real nappy industry can survive (in this economic climate thrive may be too ambitious) or people will have no alternative to disposable nappies - as was the case when my first baby was born and the disposable nappy industry, at least in London had virtually 100% market share.
Do you have any ideas of how we can enlighten Defra? Or do we need to? Is it a waste of time and energy? Should we just be concentrating on doing what we're doing? Raising awareness of alternatives to disposables and getting people using real nappies - and of course, letting people know they can be washed at low-temperature and line-dried.
At Softbots, we are about to undertake a 12 month record keeping initiative on the actual day to day cost of disposable vs reusable.
ReplyDeleteWe have 2 mothers, who are due within 4 weeks of each other with their 2nd children, and they have been tasked with recording the cost of each option. The re-usable nappy user already has everything in place from child no.1.
The aim is to get valid recent data on the everyday cost.
We will be looking for 2 1st time mums too, so that we can also collate information on their costs.
There is no reason why we could not turn this into a big online submission where people from all over the UK can submit their receipts/ costs online for us to collate! Kind of like a live tally people can contribute to.
It still comes down to the fact people just don't seem to realise these things until they see and hear it.
You could start inviting influential Defra people over for a demo!