Real Nappies aren't worth the hassle??

[Magscat]

This was on the BBC news this morning.

As a cotton nappy devotee I can't believe they are saying that disposables are not much worse than cotton - just doesn't make sense.

Any other thoughts

sanitary pads are much more of a problem than disposable nappies. if you consider how many sanitary napkins one woman uses in her lifetime, it is much more than the nappies a baby will use.
buy a mooncup. much more ecofriendly!

I use the nature boy and girl nappies and they feel so much nicer than other forms of nappies. Used them with both my kids. Did buy reusable and have never really used them. Therefore using ones that are classed as semi-bio makes me feel a bit better!

One other thing, I'm only on page 18 so far. Is the environmental effect of the super absorber polymers mentioned, should we expect trans-gender fish or something in the future as they leak into our watertables? As this is the Environment Agency, surely this should be a major feature of their study?

I have to say my DS too has exploding bowels (as has the rest of the family, but that's a whole other thing), but I figured I'm going to have to deal with the poo one day, what with potty training and all, so why not accept it and deal . Having had to wash cats pooey bottoms and clear up after old lady accidents, it's not so bad, though I can't say I love it!

All you ladies who managed to find a copy of the report, do they assume that a terry nappy is only used on one child? Because all of my terries have been used on at least 3 children, some of them it's 4 or 6 children; that must really make the manuf. costs dive.

Agree Foolysh - mine are on 3rd child too and this makes a huge diff. Yes, I think they looked purely at one child's worth of disposables compared with one child's worth of real nappies.

hub. Cloth or disposable. Just make sure your princess-to-be is wearing Gucci.

Ewwwwww bubb.... you're so dirty.

Hub2dee - I understand that it isn't ideal, but you say there is "less focus on dog faeces". I assume you mean compared with human faeces??? Well there seems to be no emphasis on not putting nappies in the bin with poo inside!! i have never, apart from on MN, heard or read any mention of this being encouraged. I know it probably should be, but it isn't. There is MORE emphasis on disposing of dog poo in bins than there is on us scraping our baby poo into the toilet before binning the nappy. Don't you all agree?

When I was pregnant nobody brought the subject up, I haven't read it in any baby book, even the ones that discuss using washable nappies. Perhaps thats something that people rrrrrreally need educated about if it is so unhygienic?

I think the dog poo thing was due to a toxiplasmosis scare in the 80s, councils figured it was better to have infected dog poo in bins than on playing fields and park land

I'm sure I read about disposing of baby poo in that free 0 to 5 book I got from the NHS, but I have to say, it was easily overlooked. One pro-cloth study I read said that it was technically illegal to dispose of human waste in landfill tho this brings up the whole san-pro debate again! and I wouldn't want to do that

Did anyone find out the motive behind this survey being commissioned?

I cannot understand why the reported conclusion wasn't something more along the lines of:

"Parents who soak and tumble dry their washable nappies are having as great an impact on the environment as those who use disposables"

And why have disposable nappies being chosen to compare to resuable nappies? Why not milk delivery services Vs buying milk in those unrecyclable cartons from the supermarket? Surely the message taken away from this report can be universalised and we can all abandon that bothersome recycling now.

Good point Beatie!

Vkone - Sahll me make it a campaign on MN to raise awareness of the apparent danger of disposing of baby poo in the bin? If it is actually illegal I am seriously shocked that there isn't something clearly written on the nappy packaging.
It clearly needs outlined!!

Here's an idea -
Why couldn't councils supply all new parents requesting it with a trial pack of real nappies? For an initial cost of what?£50 per baby, but think of the longterm saving in paying for landfills per household.
Must confess, I use disposies (nature b & g though)but it is the initial cost of something I may not get on with which has put me off - a freebie would defo have been appreciated in this house.

Sassy - someone told me recently that at least one COuncil is doing exactly that - providing free real nappies in an attempt to reduce a particularly acute local landfill problem. Wish I could remember which Council.

Just to say that i also scrape poo off the disps we use at night.

Seemed to me that one of the best ways of reducing impact of disposables was to buy LOADS at once, as many as you can possibly store/afford, perhaps also for your mates, as transport from shop to home was a 'surprising' part of the impact. Maybe internet shopping would help there, not sure.

Still think this is a really useful piece of research.

Loads do. You can find out more about cloth nappies, and what different councils give promotions etc. here as well as loads of info on any special activities in your area for Real Nappy Week (20th - 26th June).

Cheers hub. You've really got 'the cotton bug' big style haven't you??

Yup, I'm coming out as a poo scraper on the odd occasion that ds wears a disposable. Shit in my bin? Er...no thanks.

I think once you're used to putting the pooh down the toilet for cloth nappies, the idea of putting pooh in the bin with a 'sposie is less desirable.

I guess so, but it may be the optimism of wild youth and innocence.

(Well as young and innocent as you can be expecting first child at 34, well, not me, dw).

If we can make it work, I can't see why I wouldn't put the expensive washing machine to good use, give beanette a cute padded tush, save money, avoid exposure to chemicals, avoid a bin full of shi**y sausages in her room, keep our wheelie bin empty for useful stuff, and have products which will work for probably two or three kids.... dispies don't make sense to me (aside from the 'convenience' factor, and tbh, getting large boxes of dispies home from the supermarket every week sounds like a pain... I hate those places !!!).

Erm, yes, I guess I'm sold on the idea ! Would be a bit sad after all this that we abandon it. I think half the battle is finding some 'experts' local to you, and having a good nose through the different ranges to find 'best fit' (with both the baby, your budget, your drying facilities etc.). I hope we can make it work and look forward to buying lots of WAHM custom nappies / wraps too !!

anyone read this article this morning? says mostly what's already been mentioned here re. bad research techniques, poss. secret pressure from nappy manufacurers etc

Excellent article - maybe the Guardian has redeemed itself after the Observer's child-free movement fiasco...

Thanks for that Teeavee. Lots of common sense.

Hub - don't know why you're even mentioning the possiblity of abandoning cotton - you know you're hooked!

very good article. Hes picked up on a lot of the points that were made on this thread (Dyareckon he might have been lurking? )

Thanks for that teeavee. Interesting read.

EA full of assumptions (who irons their cloth nappies for one) 2000 disp users / 117 cloth users?? see here for more on why this report is not all it seems.