To think a tax on nappies is unfair?

[colacolaco]

It just seems like yet again, it’s the poorest families who will be penalized and suffer most from this.

And what next - a tax on sanitary pads and tampons? Because guess what, they’re not very environmentally friendly either.

[quote TempsPerdu]@Lockheart Ah well, as long as people are telling their sons that it’s back to the mangle from now on, as well as their daughters. And no foreign travel either, I suppose?[/quote]
Actually yes, we all need to reduce our foreign travel.

And yes, people should be raising their sons to take on an equal amount of the mental load / child rearing / housework. The fact that there is a feminist slant to the issues surrounding environmental problems (and there is, a huge one) does not negate the fact that we can't keep treating the planet the way we have been.

Disposables already work out more expensive than cloth - so I'm a way people are already taxed for using them - yet attitudes haven't shifted so it's a bit pointless really as it won't achieve anything.

Much more needs to be done. TV, shops, everything in society pushes disposable nappies like they are the only option and as a cloth nappy user I felt like an outsider. Things will only change with drastic measures and I really think this is needed.

I'm amazed that the nappy companies haven't figured out a 3rd option yet to disposables or cloth - why not some sort of ultra compressed paper-based liner like extreme toilet paper which fits inside a plastic outer nappy, basically deconstructing current disposables? So then you take the paper-ish liner out and flush it down the loo because it would just be toilet paper (maybe you'd have to let it sit in the loo for 5 mins to soak and start to break apart, same as if someone uses too much loo paper at once) and you just rinse the plastic liner and reuse? No, just tax us instead!

@Cassandraprobs

I'm amazed that the nappy companies haven't figured out a 3rd option yet to disposables or cloth - why not some sort of ultra compressed paper-based liner like extreme toilet paper which fits inside a plastic outer nappy, basically deconstructing current disposables? So then you take the paper-ish liner out and flush it down the loo because it would just be toilet paper (maybe you'd have to let it sit in the loo for 5 mins to soak and start to break apart, same as if someone uses too much loo paper at once) and you just rinse the plastic liner and reuse? No, just tax us instead!

I remember my mum having disposables like that for my brother. He’s in his 40s.

I think you just binned the inner though.

I'd imagine companies will have to make changes or businesses will fail, more people will use cloth nappies.
It can't continue they're destroying the planet.
Pressure needs to be put on the big brand companies to change to biodegradable materials at a reasonable price.

Next door have an overflowing bin every fortnight full of revolting nappy bags. I’m 99.99% sure they aren’t flushing the shit before bagging.
I don’t have an overflowing bin. Ours is barely half full.

That's just one example though.

I use disposable nappies and flush any poos down the toilet before disposing of the nappy. Our bin is also barely half full as we do a lot of recycling.

I'm also curious as to why certain practices are targeted but not others. I use disposable nappies but don't take long haul flights and don't drive. I also eat very little meat.

Am I worse for the planet than someone who uses cloth nappies but regularly holidays in the Maldives, drives every day and eats meat most nights?

I'm also curious as to why certain practices are targeted but not others.

Agree. Along similar lines, we chose to only have one child, partly for environmental reasons. But we did use disposable nappies and we do travel overseas, albeit mainly short haul and not as frequently as some. We made a conscious decision when we had DD to base our lifestyle around experiences and travel rather than ‘stuff’, as I love other cultures and languages and don’t want her having the insular, xenophobic upbringing I had.

Why is that decision somehow morally ‘worse’ than having 2 or 3 DC but using cloth nappies and not travelling?

I use disposable nappies but don't take long haul flights and don't drive. I also eat very little meat.

That's hardly earth shattering is it.

Your child's shitty nappies are being buried in landfill and will take hundreds of years to break down and there is an alternative that you won't take.

@nonono1

I'm also curious as to why certain practices are targeted but not others. I use disposable nappies but don't take long haul flights and don't drive. I also eat very little meat.

Am I worse for the planet than someone who uses cloth nappies but regularly holidays in the Maldives, drives every day and eats meat most nights?

We're not playing environmental one upmanship here are we? But if you want I'll raise you:

2 fully electric cars
Not flown anywhere for 10 years
Renewable electricity supply and a home battery
Air source heat pump

But this thread is about nappies, so I won't as it's not relevant. Cloth nappies are an easy, affordable, effortless thing to switch to. The other things we do as a family are not in reach of the majority.

Babies don’t choose to shit themselves either… 🤷🏼‍♀️

@User179335678

Babies don’t choose to shit themselves either… 🤷🏼‍♀️

No but their parents can't be arsed to potty train them until 3 in some cases and that is a choice.

No but their parents can't be arsed to potty train them until 3 in some cases and that is a choice.

@TempsPerdu

I'm also curious as to why certain practices are targeted but not others.

Agree. Along similar lines, we chose to only have one child, partly for environmental reasons. But we did use disposable nappies and we do travel overseas, albeit mainly short haul and not as frequently as some. We made a conscious decision when we had DD to base our lifestyle around experiences and travel rather than ‘stuff’, as I love other cultures and languages and don’t want her having the insular, xenophobic upbringing I had.

Why is that decision somehow morally ‘worse’ than having 2 or 3 DC but using cloth nappies and not travelling?

I don't think anyone is saying what is better or worse across the entirety of someone's life. Just that reusable nappies are better than disposable. You could have done everything you have done, exactly the same, except using reusable nappies, and that would be better for the environment. It doesn't really matter how you "compare" to some made up person.

Many mothers have children who are conceived via rape. Making them a single parent with no one to help or pay child support for. Why should we be forced to pay more tax because of this?
Eh? Women who were raped can also use reusable nappies, so they wouldn't be forced to pay more tax than anyone else. Presumably they pay tax on food for their kids too, or should they be exempt from that too?