Don’t throw in the towel – the case for reusable nappies

I was recently speaking to my son’s great-grandmother about her experience of using nappies when her children were in diapers fifty-something years ago. She simply shrugged her shoulders and said, “Well, I was one of the lucky ones — I had a washing machine by the time the first one arrived.”

One of the lucky ones?! Nowadays most parents count themselves lucky because they don’t have to use reusable nappies at all! When it came to deciding upon a method for capturing and managing the daily discharges of my own new-born son, I was certainly not considering hand washing his diapers. It didn’t even cross my mind. For me, as I guess it is for most environmentally minded individuals in the 21^st century, it was about disposable vs. reusable nappies.

If I did not have access to a washing machine the choice would have been easy: it would have been disposables for sure! However, as a washing machine-owning environmental consultant, with a particular interest in waste prevention, I had to give the whole subject a bit more thought.

Weighing up the carbon

Some years ago the UK’s Environment Agency published a comprehensive life cycle assessment of the environmental impacts of disposable and reusable nappies. This study found that reusable nappies only outperformed their competitors when managed under certain quite specific conditions; for example, washing at 60^oC in A-rated washing machines, and minimising the use of tumble driers. Coming to the subject for the first time I was left feeling that the case for real nappies might not be as strong as I’d been led to believe.

The evidence seemed to suggest that disposable nappies might be the way to go: not only would I be spared the burden of domestic slavery, but the environmental implications of my choice were marginal. Luckily, despite – or because of – my uncertainty, I decided to ‘go real’ and I soon realised that (thanks be to modern appliances) washing and managing reusable nappies is really not that much of a burden.

I also found that, in practice, many of the ways of reducing the carbon impact of reusable nappies suggested by the Environment Agency’s study could quite easily be achieved. The report suggests:

• Line drying outside whenever possible;
• Tumble drying as little as possible;
• Not washing above 60°C;
• Washing fuller loads;
• When replacing appliances, choosing more energy efficient models (A+ rated machines are preferred); and
• Reusing nappies if you have another child.

None of this is rocket science and can quite easily be achieved with a little forethought. For example, I purchased my son’s nappies second hand on eBay; we seldom, if ever, wash the nappies at or above 60^oC; and as far as possible — given the UK’s unpredictable weather — we dry the nappies outside. The Agency’s assessment suggests that the global warming impact of reusables can be reduced by up to 40% under these circumstances, making the case for them a lot stronger.

Dry and dry again – reusables offer parents many nappy returns. Photo by Thomas Vergunst

Weighing up the costs

If the environmental case for switching to real nappies fails to convince some, what about the financial case? According to research published by the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP), a child will, on average, use five nappies a day during the approximately two and a half years before they are potty-trained. Assuming a cost of £10 for a pack of 50 mid-to-upper range nappies, this equates to £912 over 30 months, compared to approximately £80 to £250 for the one-off purchase of a set of reusable nappies. According to Go Real the cost of washing nappies is approximately £1 per week, or £130 over two and a half years. Thus, the personal savings associated with using reusable nappies could amount to anywhere between £530 and £700 per child, leaving aside the fact that you do not need to buy a new set if you have a second child.

There is also a convincing argument for reusable nappies when it comes to public finances. Recently I developed a waste prevention model to help local authorities to assess the environmental and financial benefits of various waste prevention initiatives, one of which was promoting reusable nappies. The work highlighted that if in any given year 1,000 families started using real nappies from the third month onwards, on a conservative calculation this could avoid 1,032 tonnes of waste over a two and a half year period.[1] Much of this waste is landfilled. Landfill tax will be £80 per tonne next year, while the median gate fee charged at landfill sites is around £21 per tonne, making the total avoided cost to the council £104,232.

My colleague Chris Sherrington has argued that the introduction of Pay as You Throw schemes would align the financial interests of householders and the local council; it could certainly incentivise more parents to choose the reuseable nappy option. Given the financial difficulties faced by local authorities across the country, and the extensive cuts that are being made to vital public services, is there not a moral as well as an economic case for collective action to switch to reusable nappies? Just think what public services could be saved if many thousands of families started using reusable nappies. How many libraries or youth clubs could stay open? How much additional care could be provided for elderly people?

Let’s go real

There are many good websites, Go Real being one, which offer advice to parents grappling with this choice, including signposting which local authorities provide subsidies to encourage families to use reusable nappies. Adding these incentives to the financial case I’ve outlined for reusables makes a strong case for cash-strapped parents to consider. Those who go real will save their own cash, cut costs for the council and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

It is estimated that 3 billion nappies are discarded in the UK each year. In a world of modern appliances, and with the advances that have been made in the design and usability of reusable nappies, the barriers to going real are lower than ever, while the argument in favour is stronger. Let’s take up the challenge and get washing!

[1] These calculations are based on WRAP research into the average weight and frequency of nappy usage for each six month period between 0 and 2.5 years. In addition, it has been assumed that: 10% of households stop using nappies after each six month period (i.e. only 656 of the 1,000 children are still in reusable nappies at two and a half years of age); and reusable nappies are only used 80% of the time (e.g. disposables are used at night or when away on holiday). If these last two assumptions are not made the tonnage prevented would be a lot higher –1,626 tonnes for the 2.5 years, with a total avoided landfill cost of £164,226.