Nappies
In the UK alone, around 8 million disposable nappies make their way into landfill every day and they take around 500 years to break down. It’s estimated that the disposable nappies used by a child after two and a half years equate to 1 tonne of waste.
BUT
If a family chooses reusable baby nappies, they can also save about 99% of the waste that would be generated by using single-use ones. By switching to even just one reusable nappy each day, they can personally prevent around 912 disposables going to landfill in the first 2.5 years of their baby’s life.
Some may argue that reusable nappies use more energy due to the washing and drying they require, but most modern offerings feature removable liners to speed up the process.
It’s been estimated that if nappies are washed at no higher than 60℃ and then air dried, their carbon footprint will be up to 40 % lower than disposables and if they’re used for subsequent siblings, this percentage increases even further – and that’s without even taking landfill into account.
It’s therefore important to consider how easily you can air dry when choosing your nappies: bamboo ones, for example, are made from natural materials but take longer to dry, whereas microfibre is quick-drying but synthetic.
Our team have tested out a number of eco-friendly nappies and we’d recommend allocating a few outfit changes for baby in the first few weeks as they often take a bit of getting used to. Buy Smarter, Buy Greener’s Laura Kirk opted for eco-friendly nappies whilst at home and disposables when out and about, just to make life that little bit easier.
Here are some eco-friendly nappy brands to explore:
Pureborn eco-friendly bamboo based nappies.