Mike Hancock, MP supports Real Nappy Week

23.06.05

Mike Hancock, MP (Lib Dem – Portsmouth South) is supporting Real Nappy Week

Now in its ninth year, Real Nappy Week 2005 (June 20-26) is supported by over 80% of local authorities, with over 100 activities planned across 40 UK counties. And for the first time the Week has gone global. While parents in the UK will be attending events and activities across the country to find out more about real nappies, parents in New Zealand and Ireland will be doing the same. Groups in Mexico, Canada, the US and Australia are also planning activities and events to promote real nappies.

Mike Hancock said: “Real Nappy Week provides the perfect opportunity for parents to find out more about the benefits of real nappies. With a third of children living below the poverty line it is important that people know that they can not only save waste, they could also save hundreds of pounds.”

And it is hardly surprising that the Week attracts so much attention, given the enormous choice of gorgeous modern cloth nappies available. Colourful or natural, plain or patterned, organic cotton, fleece or wool - there is such a range of real nappies in different shapes and styles that parents are spoilt for choice. And Real Nappy Week provides the perfect opportunity to find out more.

Real Nappy Week is coordinated by Women’s Environmental Network (WEN) working with the Real Nappy Campaign. 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.

Commenting on the recent Environment Agency report suggesting disposables and real nappies had similar environmental impact. Elizabeth Hartigan of WEN says, “Despite this confusing report, the benefits of cloth nappies remain clear. Parents can save money and save waste and reduce harm to the environment. The only way parents can reduce environmental impact when using disposable nappies is to use fewer nappies and that’s not a good idea. Using real nappies puts parents in control. All you need is a sensible washing routine to really make a difference.”

The Real Nappy Helpline 0845 850 0606 gives callers details of their local cloth nappy contacts whether they want to buy them to wash at home or use a laundry service. For full details of the Week’s supporters, events and activities visit www.wen.org.uk/rnw. For more information about real nappies visit www.realnappycampaign.com

See below for top ten tips to help the environment.

Ten top tips to help the environment: · Use an energy efficient washing machine; · Wash soiled nappies at 60oC; · 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

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

Environment: Many parents use just 20-24 nappies. Washing them at 60oC in an energy efficient washing machine saves 24% global warming impact over that suggested in the Environment Agency report – Life Cycle Assessment of reusable and disposable nappies May 2005.

Waste: Britain throws away about eight 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 even taking all the electricity and detergent costs into account. Use the nappies for more children and the savings could be even greater. 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.

WRAP has laid down targets across fifteen programmes. Twelve are focused on market development, and comprise nine material streams (Paper, Plastics, Glass, Wood, Organics, Aggregates, Tyres, Plasterboard and Batteries) 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. More information on all of WRAP’s programmes can be found at www.wrap.org.uk 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