PRESS RELEASE

FRIDAY 10TH JUNE 2005

Comhairle nan Eilean Siar joins 390 local authorities to support Real Nappy Week 2005.

Now in its ninth year, Real Nappy Week 2005 (June 20-26) is supported by over 80% of local authorities, with over 100 activities planned across 40 UK counties and for the first time the Week has gone global.

While parents in the UK will attend events and activities across the country to find out more about real nappies, parents in New Zealand and Ireland will be doing the same. Groups in Mexico, Canada, the US and Australia are also planning activities and events to promote real nappies.

Councillor Angus Nicolson, Chair of Environmental Services Committee says, ‘It is fantastic that there is international interest in Real Nappy Week this year but local activities and events form the core of this essential waste prevention campaign. Not only does the disposal of this type of waste cost the Council money but it also a waste that cannot be recycled, so there are real benefits to the local tax payer of using real nappies .’

To find out more about Real Nappies and how they have developed recently why not come along to one of the events being held by Waste Aware Western Isles:

Tuesday 21st June - a Real Nappy demonstration and information session at the Children’s Centre in Castlebay, Isle of Barra from 9.30 am until 12 noon; Thursday 23rd June - an information and fun day in the Nunton Steading, Benbecula from 1pm until 6pm; Friday 24th June - a Real Nappy Fashion Show and Fun Day at the Caberfeidh Hotel Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, with the Fashion Show at 1pm and event open from 12 noon until 6pm.

Local authorities promote real nappy use to reduce the amount of waste going to scarce landfill space. Three billion nappies a year - eight million a day - are thrown away in the UK. As well as saving waste, parents can save £500 on the cost of nappies for one baby, and more if they use them again on another baby.

For full details on the weeks events contact the Waste Aware Western Isles Helpline on 01851 709900.

Ten top tips to help the environment:

• Use an energy efficient washing machine
• Wash soiled nappies at 60 oC
• Wash wet nappies and waterproof wraps at lower temperatures along with the rest of your laundry
• Avoid tumble drying – hang nappies out to dry or use an airer
• Avoid soaking – store nappies dry in a lidded bucket
• Avoid using unnecessary chemicals such as conditioners and sanitizers
• Use eco-detergent
• Never iron nappies or wraps
• Extend the life of your nappies - reuse them on another baby, or give/sell them to someone else
• Use washable liners

Real Nappy Week, 20-26 June 2005 is the annual focus of the real nappy campaign, funded by WRAP (the Waste & Resources Action Programme) and co-ordinated by Women’s Environmental Network (WEN) working with the Real Nappy Campaign. The aim is to engage with parents nationwide to help them make an informed choice about real nappies and single-use disposables. The Real Nappy Campaign will deliver a national educational programme of activity to raise awareness of washable real nappies, which will be supported throughout the week by regional and local activities across the UK co-ordinated by WEN. For more information on Real Nappy Week visit www.realnappycampaign.com

Environment : Many parents use just 20-24 nappies. Washing them at 60 oC in an energy efficient washing machine saves 24% global warming impact over that suggested in the Environment Agency report – Life Cycle Assessment of reusable and disposable nappies May 2005.

Waste : Britain throws away about eight million nappies a day. With a disposal cost to individual local authorities in hundreds of thousands of pounds per year (Nottinghamshire estimates £1 million per year) it is not surprising that nappy schemes now play a key role in local authorities’ waste strategies.

Cost: WEN estimates that washing nappies at home could save parents around £500 even taking all the electricity and detergent costs into account. Using the nappies for more children means the savings could be even greater. Hospitals can save money too by using real nappies on wards where disposables incur clinical waste charges. Local authorities save on waste disposal charges.

Modern nappies have advanced considerably over recent years. They are shaped and fitted and fastened without the need for pins. They come in a variety of styles and patterns. A biodegradable liner can be used inside the nappy and this can be removed so that the contents are flushed down the loo. Nappy washing services make things even easier, collecting dirty nappies and leaving fresh clean ones in their place.

Women’s Environmental Network (WEN) is a registered charity which campaigns on issues which link women, health and the environment. WEN has been involved in Real Nappy Week since its inception and has coordinated the week in its current form since 2000. Other current issues include food, chemicals and the environmental impacts of disposable sanitary and continence protection. www.wen.org.uk email nappies@wen.org.uk tel: 020 7481 9004 fax: 020 7481 9144

WRAP(the Waste & Resources Action Programme) is a major UK programme established to promote resource efficiency. Its particular focus is on creating stable and efficient markets for recycled materials and products and removing the barriers to waste minimisation, re-use and recycling.
WRAP has laid down targets across fifteen programmes. Twelve are focused on market development, and comprise nine material streams (Paper, Plastics, Glass, Wood, Organics, Aggregates, Tyres, Plasterboard and Batteries) and three generic areas (Business & Finance, Procurement, and Regional Market Development). Three further programmes relate to the wider resource efficiency remit - Collections, Communications and Awareness, and Waste Minimisation. More information on all of WRAP’s programmes can be found at www.wrap.org.uk

Part of WRAP’s Waste Minimisation work, the Real Nappy Campaign is an element of the Real Nappy Programme, which is focused on helping parents to make an informed choice about nappies and increasing the visibility of real nappies. Its targets are to convert an additional 155,000 households to real nappy use, and in the process divert 35,000 tonnes per annum of disposable nappy waste from landfill.

Information on all of WRAP’s activities is available at www.wrap.org.uk and details of its Recycle Now campaign can be found at www.recyclenow.com. For more information on WEN’s campaigns go to www.wen.org.uk