Go Real with Real Nappy Week 2010 (26 April — 2 May)

16/4/2010

We throw away about eight million disposable nappies every day in the UK, most of which end up in a landfill site. Disposable nappies are expensive for parents to use, and they are becoming increasingly expensive to dispose of because of the rising costs

There is an alternative that can help you save money and help the environment too — real nappies. 

Real nappies come in many shapes, sizes, styles, fabrics and colours from flat to fully shaped all-in-ones, and are simple to use with poppers and Velcro instead of pins. No matter what you choose to use, most real nappies require a liner to be placed inside the nappy. Biodegradable liners can be flushed down the toilet when you change your baby´s nappy. You can also get great waterproof covers to use with flat and shaped nappies.

Real nappies are fully machine washable, and there is no need for any soaking or scrubbing. Nappies can be washed at 60 degrees and it´s best to dry them outside in the sunshine or an airer (rather than in the tumble drier). 

While it may seem that there is an initial cost associated with buying real nappies, you could save £500 per child compared to using disposables (even taking into account the cost of washing the nappies at home). By the time your baby is potty trained, he or she could have had 4000 or more nappy changes — and parents using disposable nappies put their hard earned cash in the bin! And remember you can continue to use real nappies if you go on to have more children — saving you even more money.

By using real nappies, you can reduce the amount of waste that you produce — freeing up room in your bin at home and sending less waste to a landfill site. Disposable nappies (made of plastic) could take hundreds of years to decompose in landfill sites — meaning that they could still be around for your children´s children to deal with.

So why not try Going Real this Real Nappy Week (April 26— May 2)with the help of the re3 partnership? Find out more at a real nappy event in your area:

28 April, 10am - 2pm, The Look Out Discovery Centre, Nine Mile Ride.
• April 29, 10am- 12 noon, Real Nappy Coffee Morning, The Oakwood Centre, Woodley.

Parents living in Bracknell Forest, Reading and Wokingham can benefit from £30 cashback when they try real nappies out for the first time. Contact your local council for more information about how to claim your cashback

Bracknell Forest: 01344 352000

Reading: 0118 9373737

Wokingham: 0118 9746000