To be surprised that washable nappies aren't that green - and haven't been for years?

[ScaredyDog]

Here

Yes it's the Daily Fail, but according to the article the green credentials of washable nappies were discounted by the Environment Agency in 2007.

Apparently there is "no significant difference between the environmental impacts of disposable, home use reusable and commercial laundry systems."

I'll be honest - it's always puzzled me how washable nappies could be considered to be friendlier to the environment because of the use of washing machines and chemicals to clean them.

Schools are being warned with the new Sep intake they will have kids in rec in nappies,they are 4 year olds.

It has everything to do with the nappy debate because far too many people sit smugly saying oh I use washables when really nappies full stop are baaaaad,extended use very baaad for the environment.

Where have you got this info (I fear the DM) and how many kids are we talking?

And it doesn't really have anything to do with whether clth is greener than disposable. Whichever you use it's best to toilet train when your kids are ready.

Why? - are reusable nappy users more likely to extend nappy use than disposable nappy users?

x-post. that question was to milamae.

I would guess the opposite Joule cos it's only lazy mums who's kids toilet train late and they will be using disposables (I jest).

Sorry juuule!

"When your child is ready"-a hugely debatable subject.

I'm a teacher tis common knowledge.

Nothing to be sorry for pumpkin :o

I'm a teacher too.

and it is nowhere near a common occurrence.

There are lazy parents out there wether you like it or not. Schools/pre-schools can't exclude kids anymore if not out of nappies and it's a problem particularly when 4 year olds start in Sep as teachers/assistants are supposed to be teaching not changing nappies. With funding being cut will be more of a problem.Our pre-school is struggling as it is,it needs 2X staff every time,the rest of the class have to make do with limited staff.

I used to wash mine at 40 degrees and line dry them.

I was lazy and couldnt be arsed ot potty train my girls, dd1 was out of nappies by three and dd2 was out of nappies at two, I was very lucky, they both decided they had enough................

Can I suspect areas/schools differ.

The fact nappy companies are making bigger nappies these days and a huge market in pull ups etc kind of indicates I'm not imagining it,unless of course they just make them for the hell of it .

No statistics then Mila? Are you are basing your argument entirely on the school you work in and experiences of those you know. I hope you don't teach science/maths.
Also nice to see you've earmarked the 'lazy' parents on the basis of their kids development

Might have something to do with the fact that kids tend to weigh a bit more Mila.

No stats just the views of several of my teacher friends(in varying areas).

Whatever,clearly getting all kids out of any type of nappies asap is better for the environment.

Well if you've spoken to SEVERAL it's obviously statistically significant evidence and not just a bunch of teachers bitching about lazy parents

I disagree re: the nappy/pull up statement too.

dd1 would have been in size 6 nappies at 20 months

and pull ups mirror the nappy sizes - you can get quite small ones as well as larger ones - I guess it is down to parental preference whether they use nappies or pull ups.

Is this the 'report' that was commisioned by the makers of disposables ?

The main difference for me as well, as someone else pointed out is that as a cloth user you flush the poo. Almost every disposable user I know wraps the poo up in plastic then throws it in the bin (I am willing to be corrected)

Quite right oldraver. poo should go down the loo, but users of disposables do tend to bag it up.

I'm really glad I read this whole thread. When I mention my cloth use to other mums they get straight on the attack with comments about their impact on the environment through washing etc. Reading all the posts here has given me some nice, succinct comebacks

I'm off to stuff my bumbles!

I kind of agree with Mila about the sums; I definitely did not save many hundreds by using cloth with my first. More like 20-50 quid max. Real savings came with subsequent DC in cloth, and the DC who stayed in cloth at night past 5yo.

But otherwise...I never noticed anybody still in disps when starting school (I have 3 DC who have been thru reception). One of the SN kids (I suspect she has mild ASD) used pullups for a while (few weeks) whilst settling in.
I don't care what other people did or think. I'm satisfied that the way I did cloth nappies was greener than using disps, and ultimately (with 4 DC) saved me money. It's not a smuggery, just glad to make my small difference.