Nappy Week
12th March, 2007
Using real nappies could save parents over €1000 on the cost of keeping a baby in nappies and lead to a healthier environment too! This is according to North Tipperary County Council's Environment Department who are encouraging parents to think about the alternatives to disposables during Real Nappy Week (11th - 18th March).
"If you have one or more children in nappies, then you have a good idea of the huge cost of buying disposable nappies and the effect they have on your household waste bill, not to mind the environment,"
says Lorraine Power, Environmental Awareness Officer, North Tipperary County Council.
"In terms of potential savings, at an average of six nappy changes per day at 31.7 cents per nappy this equates to an average cost of €13.31 per week and €1,730.30 over 2.5 years. You can buy your entire nappy kit for 2.5 years for about €100 - €150. The same amount of money would only buy eight - twelve weeks of disposables."
Of course, it's not just the cost of buying and getting rid of the disposable nappies, there's the fact that they are made from non-biodegradable plastics and chemicals and take up to 500 years to decompose in our landfills, causing a threat to our environment and health. Over two hundred million nappies are sent to landfill in Ireland every year!
If you thought real nappies were all white terry towelling squares and nappy pins, think again! Wide varieties of real nappies, as well as more environmentally friendly disposables are now available in Ireland, in a wide variety of styles, colours and shapes to suit any baby. Real nappies are kinder to the environment and because cotton is breathable, heat is allowed to escape, keeping your baby cool, comfortable and healthier. They are all also machine washable. By using real nappies even some of the time, you are helping the environment.
"Naturally enough, many people are concerned about the amount of the energy and water they will use to keep their baby in real nappies"
said Lorraine Power.
"However, from manufacture to use, disposable nappies use 3.5 times as much energy, 8 times as much non-renewable raw materials and 90 times as much renewable material as real nappies. They produce 2.3 times as much wastewater and 60 times as much solid waste".
For information on suppliers in your area or if your community group would like to host a demonstration workshop, please contact Lorraine Power, Environmental Awareness Officer, telephone (067) 44784 or by email lorraine.power@northtippcoco.ie. To find out more facts about the cost and environmental impacts of real nappies, visit www.wen.org.uk
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