Brentwood Borough Council Environment - Recycling - Nappies

Nappies

Nappies account for 3.2% of all the rubbish collected in Essex. Last year 24,880 tonnes of disposable nappies were buried in Essex landfill sites every day. This equates to 340,000 nappies! 

The disposal of nappies is also costing you the Essex ratepayer a high price... based on 2001/2002 statistics the cost for collection and disposal was £1.5 million.

Your child will use on average 5,000 disposable nappies until potty trained. This will cost you between £600 & £800.

It makes sense to use reusable nappies:

• 24 reusable nappies will be required for the time the child requires them        
• You will save up to £600
• Reusable nappies are soft, cotton and breathable... no nappy rash as a result
• Reusable nappies allow all faeces to be flushed down the toilet
• Disposable nappies contain gels and chemicals
• It takes one cup of crude oil + part of a tree to make a disposable nappy

As you can see it makes sense from an environmental view point and also from a financial one.

A family who wash reusable nappies at home will pay around £2.50 a week and if you have them collected and delivered by a nappy laundering service, this will cost £8-£9 per week (almost the same as disposables).

Further information on cloth nappies can be found at:

Essex County Council's Cloth Nappy Campaign

Telephone 01245 437318 or visit www.essexcc.gov.uk/nappies

The Real Nappy Campaign

Telephone 0845 850 0606 or visit www.realnappycampaign.com