No nasty nappies for West Midlands babies

4.50.45pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 1st Apr 2003

Real Nappy Week is being organised by the Women's Environmental Network. http://www.wen.org.uk/nappies/nappies.htm

You are never to young to start playing your part in helping to protect the environment, says West Midlands Euro-MP Liz Lynne.

The Liberal Democrat MEP is calling for West Midlands babies to ditch their disposables and try modern reusable nappies instead.

European laws to cut the production of global warming gases are putting pressure on the Government to reduce the amount of waste being sent to landfill sites. Disposable nappies have become a major problem, especially as they can take more than 150-200 years to decompose, so every land filled disposable nappy is still out there.

However the new range of washable cloth nappies bears no resemblance to the old towelling style. Available in a range of shaped and fitted alternatives with Velcro or snap fastenings, they present no problems to families.

Liz helped launch the Green Nappy Initiative in Ross-on-Wye at the end of March.

Liz Lynne, who launched a EnviroAbility's new green nappy scheme in Ross-on-Wye last Friday, said: "over 8 million nappies a day are sent to landfill every day in the UK. Using real nappies is not only good for the environment but provides value for money. Even taking into account the cost of washing real nappies at home – around £50 per year – the savings are still considerable and could save around £500 per child."

In some areas nappy laundering services deliver clean nappies to the door and collect dirty ones to be washed.

Real Nappy Week runs from 7-13 April 2003, and focuses attention on the environmental impact of disposable nappies. The Real Nappy Association is launching a new telephone service for parents interested in using real nappies (01983 401959). This provides contact details of real nappy suppliers and groups in your area. For more info, go to http://www.realnappy.com.