During Real Nappy Week 2001, the Women's Environmental Network (WEN) will be calling on the National Health Service to establish a real nappy policy.

The National Health Service is an essential source of information to UK parents and plays a highly influential role in the choices made by parents. All expectant parents in the UK are encouraged to attend ante-natal and

parentcraft courses at their local maternity hospital where they are shown how to put on a disposable nappy. In most cases, parents who wish to use real nappies in hospital are unable to because of the lack of provision for washing them. WEN’s Real Nappy Project is requesting the NHS to change its stance from the promotion of disposable nappies towards providing UK parents with the opportunity to make an informed choice between disposable and real nappies.

Real nappies have come a long way since the days of boiling tubs of terries. There is now an extensive range of modern shaped and fitted, real cotton nappies with popper and velcro fastening waterproof pants in a wide variety of designs, patterns, colours and fabrics. Washing is also a simple matter now that almost 90% of households have a washing machine, and even easier when you make use of nappy laundry service.

The Real Nappy Project is promoting the introduction of a real nappy policy for the NHS including:

• A midwives training scheme to educate midwives in the use and benefits of real nappies.
• The introduction of real nappy demonstrations in ante-natal classes.
• Real nappies in children's wards, neonatal and maternity units and for adult incontinence in UK hospitals.

A number of UK hospitals have already adopted an on ward real nappy policy. In November 1997 Crawley Hospital was the first to introduce a nappy laundry service onto their maternity wards working with Cotton Bottoms laundry service. Crowborough Birthing Centre in East Sussex followed in December 1997. Similar systems have been set up in St Richard's Hospital, Chichester, Royal Devon & Exeter, Tiverton, Honiton, Okehampton, Crowborough, and Oldham NHS Trust. Worthing and Eastbourne will be following suit in March and Brighton is currently examining how they can implement a real nappy policy.

The availability of real nappies on hospital wards not only benefits the parents in providing them with real choice, hospitals also benefit from the savings made on the cost of incinerating disposable nappies as clinical

waste. In addition to the unknown number of parents who launder their own nappies, 25% of parents of babies born at St Richard's Hospital, Chichester have continued to use the nappy laundry service provided by Cotton Bottoms. At the same time the hospital has saved on clinical waste disposal costs. UK hospitals which provide disposable nappies free to their patients could make additional savings on the cost of buying disposables.

By encouraging the adoption of a real nappy policy in the NHS, the Real Nappy Project is seeking to make cost savings in the NHS as part of a waste minimisation strategy, while offering UK parents a wider choice.

16 February 2001

For further information contact:

Elizabeth Hartigan, Maeve Murphy or Liz Sutton on

Tel: 020 7481 9004 Fax: 020 7481 9144 or email:nappies@wen.org.uk OVER. . .

NOTES

Real Nappy Week is promoted by Women’s Environmental Network’s Real Nappy Project to raise awareness of reusable modern cloth fitted nappies, terries and laundry services to offer parents a real alternative to disposable nappies.

The Real Nappy Project is funded by Biffaward with money raised from landfill tax - in this instance tax on waste creation is used directly for waste prevention.

Disposable nappies form 4% of household waste in Britain costing the tax payer £40 million each year to dispose of them. The Real Nappy Project seeks to reduce this by educating parents, local authorities, hospitals and nurseries of the benefits of the real alternative.

NAPPY FACTS

REAL NAPPIES DON'T COST THE EARTH

Savings of up to £600 can be made on the cost of disposable nappies for a first child. This increases with second and subsequent children where the nappies can be reused.

Further measures have been introduced this year to bring the cost of real nappies even lower:

Some nappy suppliers have established payment schemes to spread the initial cost of buying a full set of real nappies.

The Nappy Exchange Service has been set up to provide a source of secondhand real nappies.

Trial packs are now available for hire or can be returned unused for a full refund.

West Sussex County Council is offering up to £30 cashback incentive to anyone using real nappies.

ECO BABY

Disposable nappies form an estimated 4% of household waste, costing the British tax payer £40 million a year to dispose of them. Disposable nappies create 50% of the waste from a household with one baby. Decomposing disposable nappies emit noxious methane gas. It will take 200 to 500 years for a disposable nappy to decompose, leaving a legacy to your children's grandchildren.

The production of disposables uses 3.5 x more energy, 8.3 x more non-renewable resources, 90 x more renewable resources, produce 2.3 x more waste water and 60 x more solid waste than real nappies.

HEALTH CONCERN

Tributyl Tin (TBT), a chemical compound which is known to disrupt sex hormones, has been found in disposable nappies on sale in the UK. A baby wearing five nappies a day could be in contact with up to 3.6 times the World Health Organisation's estimated tolerable daily intake. (We can't say whether it transfers from nappy to baby or how much.) TBT shouldn't be in any household product, let alone something that is being worn next to babies' skin. The fear is it could be absorbed into the body and disrupt the child's sex balance. WEN is calling for immediate action by manufacturers to remove TBT from nappies and for the Government to sign up to a global ban on production and use of TBT by 2003.

A recent study by doctors from the University of Kiel in Germany has raised concerns regarding the

temperature of disposable nappies. They have been found to maintain boys' testicles at higher than normal temperatures, which may have an effect on their fertility.