Disposable nappies are unhygenic

[Dodaday]

I think disposable nappies are very unhygenic, having just returned from a holiday complex where I witnessed parents putting rolled up used nappies outside their chalets, only sometimes in a bag. Even some of the litter bins were full of them. The satisfying thing about using terry nappies, is that when I change a dirty one, the poo and liners go straight down the loo where it is supposed to go, and not into a landfill site, the thought of which makes me crynge! I wonder how many people using disposables scrape the poo down the loo first? I suppose it's possible to use a liner with a disposable nappy, but I don't know anyone who does, it's never mentioned, and the manufacturer's don't suggest it.

there is one brand which apparently decomposes in 3 weeks, and can be put on compost (but not sure about the poo thing) they are the Moltex oko brand, good nappies not as absorbant as the other as they dont have the same aborbant and chemical contents. also are very expensive so not really fair on low income families.

Thomcat, don't be daft about feeling guilty! Can you imagine sending Lottie to school in huge cloth nappies?? Mad.
She'll get there in the end.

i'm not sure if you know but there are some threads on here for toilet training special needs kids. haven't read them just saw them when i was looking for threads on toilet training for my DS (currently in midst of wee and poo on the floor at regular intervals but getting there). maybe they can be some extra support and some tips.

unfortunately there is not much help out there otherswise, most continence services are geared to adults. you do know you are entitled to 5 nappies a day through the nappy service. they will deliver them to your house. you dont get a chioce of what brand of nappy it depends on what your council provides (usually the cheapest).

Veggiemummy - yes we get the free nappies. Thank God for them, it's wonderful.
It would be more wonderful if they did a poull up version or went up to slightly larger sizes, but I think the fact that I get Lottie's free is great so...

I might start another SN TT thread actually as I'm having a few teething probs.

Thanks - TC x

oh and usually pull ups are included in your 5 a day if you want them. this is directed at thomcat. sorry the rest of you will have to buy your own.

Blimey, trying to toilet train while pg and with a todder- nightmare!

oh i posted that at the same time as you. what brand does your council provide. you can ask for a combination of pull ups and nappies, say 3 pull ups and 2 nappies or even 4 pull ups and extra absorbant nappies for night time. its up to you. contact your provider, the person who assesed your DD (do you get re assessed regularly)

i know now i'm feeling guilty for finding TT difficult and i've only got one!!! how crap am I

moltex nappies aren't degradable! the packaging is how about that for some good advertising- everyone thinks moltex are uber-eco friendly!!!!

oh dear my friend is going to be very upset she was telling me they were better then my non-disps, and i think she was actually putting them in the compost. wont be smelling her roses.

According to this website, the moltex oko nappy is totally biodegradable.

Yes, but the link does also show they need to be composted using earthworm composting. It?s not the same as the composting done at the bottom of your garden, or by the council. You need specific worms even, not the average everyday British earthworm!

Also (I?ve been thinking about this since my last post) to add my two-pence worth again, I think the terms ?reusable? and ?one-use? nappies make more sense!

In terms of reusable nappies, I think they are called ?real? nappies to make the distinction from artificial. Reusable nappies are made of fabrics that come from natural materials that are harvested regularly, rather than with substances artificially made through breaking crude oil and deforestation.

However, IMHO I think it is more daft to call disposable nappies disposable. We should call them ?one-use? nappies because we don?t ever really dispose of them. I mean the whole point of this thread is that they are not really disposable at all! No-one knows how long they take to decompose in landfill, which is where most end up! So disposing of them in council waste isn?t really disposing of them.

What needs to be done is, like Habbibu said, is make getting rid of one-use nappies better. They need to be made of materials that can be composted in a regular compost environment, and not just in a special worm composter, which take up space and do take time! They also need to be made of more environmentally friendly products. Nature Babycare, a Swedish company, make nappies that have a compostable biological maize film instead of the ordinary plastic layer made from crude oil. It?s a start! They?re the ones we use when we need to use ?disposables?.

But I still think that reusuable nappies are simply better environmentally because they can be recycled when finished with. Oxfam have a textile reclamation factory that takes fibers and uses them for packaging etc.

Earthworm composting just speeds up the process, if it can be vermicomposted then it will rot. And, by the way, I do have a worm composter in my garden (for kitchen waste, not nappies!).

Fiofio, i know it is rediculous, they offer no incentive to help toilet train children with special needs, pull ups are really really effective for some of the special needs kids i have looked after, if only to make the kids feel less like they are in a nappy, and just a little more grown up. you probably dont have the time or the energy but it may be worth challenging your provider, you could explain that if successful they won't need to provide any nappies at all in the long run.

all the composting is making my head spin, but i have just realised that after 2 years of washing nappies i havent washed any for a week, does that mean DS is toilet trained (ok there may have been a few puddles today).