Post by oldmike on Jul 4, 2007 9:56:12 GMT 7
Traditional nappies 'no better for environment'
By Nicole Martin
Last Updated: 6:01pm BST 03/07/2007
A Government minister has delivered the news that millions of parents have been waiting to hear: traditional nappies are no more environmentally friendly than disposables.
Ben Bradshaw, the new health minister, made the comment after a four-year study by the Environment Agency concluded that "there is little or nothing to choose between them".
It found that the damage caused by burying disposables in landfill sites was matched by the electricity and greenhouse gases generated by washing and drying cloth nappies.
In response to a parliamentary question, Mr Bradshaw, a former environment minister, told the Commons: "Reusable nappies may reduce demands on landfill but they still impact on the environment in other ways such as water and energy used in washing and drying them."
The findings will come as a relief to parents who feel guilty about using disposable nappies.
Only five per cent of parents are now thought to use cloth nappies, and nearly three billion nappies are thrown away annually, with 90 per cent ending up in landfill.
The Taxpayers' Alliance said the findings were an embarrassment for the Government-funded Real Nappy Campaign which had cost taxpayers £2.3 million over three years.
Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the alliance, said: "This is a quite farcical waste of taxpayers' money, and is yet more evidence of how politicians are unable to run programmes effectively.
"The Government should concentrate on getting politicians out of managing vast government departments and bringing in outside experts to run reformed public services, otherwise we will continue to see more examples of this sort of madness."
The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), which ran the Real Nappy Campaign, said it had succeeded in diverting 23,000 tons of disposable nappies away from landfill.
A spokesman said: "We are confident that because modern parents are more aware of environmental issues they will be in a position to make an informed decision in their choice of nappies."
Local councils have started to offer gift vouchers or cash rewards to mothers who use traditional nappies as part of a drive to cut the number that go to landfill.
Councils already running the reusable nappy scheme include Three Rivers district council, in south-west Hertfordshire, which gives parents £80 if they use a nappy laundry service for six months.
Harrow council in north-west London offers a one-off grant of £60 per child to offset the cost of purchasing real cotton nappies. Suffolk and Norfolk county councils offer a £30 subsidy.
By Nicole Martin
Last Updated: 6:01pm BST 03/07/2007
A Government minister has delivered the news that millions of parents have been waiting to hear: traditional nappies are no more environmentally friendly than disposables.
Ben Bradshaw, the new health minister, made the comment after a four-year study by the Environment Agency concluded that "there is little or nothing to choose between them".
It found that the damage caused by burying disposables in landfill sites was matched by the electricity and greenhouse gases generated by washing and drying cloth nappies.
In response to a parliamentary question, Mr Bradshaw, a former environment minister, told the Commons: "Reusable nappies may reduce demands on landfill but they still impact on the environment in other ways such as water and energy used in washing and drying them."
The findings will come as a relief to parents who feel guilty about using disposable nappies.
Only five per cent of parents are now thought to use cloth nappies, and nearly three billion nappies are thrown away annually, with 90 per cent ending up in landfill.
The Taxpayers' Alliance said the findings were an embarrassment for the Government-funded Real Nappy Campaign which had cost taxpayers £2.3 million over three years.
Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the alliance, said: "This is a quite farcical waste of taxpayers' money, and is yet more evidence of how politicians are unable to run programmes effectively.
"The Government should concentrate on getting politicians out of managing vast government departments and bringing in outside experts to run reformed public services, otherwise we will continue to see more examples of this sort of madness."
The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), which ran the Real Nappy Campaign, said it had succeeded in diverting 23,000 tons of disposable nappies away from landfill.
A spokesman said: "We are confident that because modern parents are more aware of environmental issues they will be in a position to make an informed decision in their choice of nappies."
Local councils have started to offer gift vouchers or cash rewards to mothers who use traditional nappies as part of a drive to cut the number that go to landfill.
Councils already running the reusable nappy scheme include Three Rivers district council, in south-west Hertfordshire, which gives parents £80 if they use a nappy laundry service for six months.
Harrow council in north-west London offers a one-off grant of £60 per child to offset the cost of purchasing real cotton nappies. Suffolk and Norfolk county councils offer a £30 subsidy.