Monday 2 December 2013

Nappies NOT a landfill issue. Really?

Defra will be making a big mistake if it leaves nappies out of the Waste Prevention Plan for England, due to be published later this month. I can already see and hear the crowing media releases from AHPMA (Absorbent Hygiene Products Manufacturer's Associaton). "Disposable nappies NOT a landfill problem. Parents need feel no guilt. They should just use the type of nappy that most suits their lifestyle".

This is disinformation. It's also completely ignoring the waste hierarchy. Disposable nappies are up to 12% of household waste in some areas of London. And clearly not every household is putting out disposable nappy waste. If there are two babies in a home wearing disposable nappies that's 2 black bin bags of waste per week, weighing approx 14 kilos. Saying disposable nappies are not a waste issue makes a mockery of a programme that aims to move England towards becoming a "Zero Waste Economy". How can anyone think that household waste is a problem when disposable nappies are not considered a significant waste stream?


If you have a baby in real nappies and want to tell the government you enjoy using real nappies and they should be praising you for reducing waste to landfill please join us for a #realnappyflashmob. You can sign up here. We need to make a big spectacle and create media coverage so the media isn't totally dominated by disposable nappy companies saying their nappies are not a landfill problem.

The Waste Prevention Plan for England will be published any day now - but we don't know when. We want to hold the flashmob on the actual day of publication to get the best opportunity of media coverage. I know when you have a baby/toddler (or both) it's really difficult to be spontaneous but this is a really important media opportunity. Please sign up. We will text you to let you know it's on. We know many of you will be unable to make it but if there's any chance that you can please sign up. The deadline set by Europe for the publication of the Waste Prevention Plan is 12 December. If the programme is not published by this date we will hold the flashmob on 12 December anyway to mark the Government missing the deadline.

You may also be interested in this: Remember the Waste Hierarchy

2 comments:

  1. I was really shocked that the waste reduction plan might not flag up disposable nappies as an issue, they are a huge issue surely? I think its almost wilful denial, not wanting people to feel bad about it, if they don't mention it. I wouldn't want to make people feel guilty as such, but people should be properly informed and denying the amount of waste produced won't help anyone.

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  2. I am too Laura. We expect Government to show leadership. But the disposable nappy industry is a huge international business. It's worth approx $20 billion. Governments don't like to upset industry. Secondly the government needs tax, including landfill tax. The best thing we can do is boycott their products and encourage others to do so too.

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