DISPOSABLE NAPPY APPRECIATION THREAD - Sod the landfill! Come here to sing their praises!

[BoffinMum]

There are some of us who think reusable nappies are an eco-conspiracy con designed to get mothers firmly back at the kitchen sink feeling guilty.

There are others of us who have stopped using reusables because our children developed dread diseases of the bottom area.

Some of us even gag at the thought of dealing with all the poo manually, instead of just cursorarily flinging a bit down the loo and then bunging the whole affair in a nice scented nappy sack.

Come join with us if you too are heartily grateful for disposable nappies and the liberation they bring.

Thank you Boffin. I have never ever heard before that you are suposed to scrape poo off a nappy frist in order to avoid ground contamination. Surely though once poo is in nappy in bag in landfill in middle of black sack which is in middle of thousands of other black sacks the chances of poo leaking out into the soil must be infintissimil?

There's a daft name for a start! I mean 'terry'?? Who decided that a towelling nappy should be called 'Terry'. Was there a rival inferior brand called June I wonder...

Lisa, I imagine it's an 'every little helps' sort of argument. My FIL is a hydrogeologist and I could consult him if you are really interested ...

Washasaurus, this isn't a thread for reusables really, we just want to talk about disposables and things like leaking and poo scraping practices. Which is why your Lidl info was useful.

From Genuki website:

"Merely for completeness it may be mentioned that the use of the word "terry" in connection with textiles (eg terry towelling) is derived (supposedly) from the French "tire" which means to be "pulled" and refers to the surface of such fabrics where the threads are pulled into loops and remain uncut".

I could see WHY the thread was started, but think some of the posts were a bit unnecessary and pointed that all, that is all.

As I said, washable users are the minority, I don't think it is helpful or fair to start a thread that criticises them or people who choose to use them.

I was offended for several reasons...mainly that because I use washables I'm some kind of hysterical eco-fascist who has a stinky house and doesn't care for my children's health.

I don't think it is wrong of me to contribute here. People don't pour scorn on people discussing their use of disposables on the washable nappy support threads. Maybe disposable users are less welcoming? (joke!!!)

Just had a quick name browse and seen wee notions, motherease, bumgenius, Itti Bitti D'lish, fuzzi bunz and Nappy Nippas! I always thought Huggies was stupid name but I reckon it glows with common sense compared to that lot

Oh I love mumsnet - only here would somebody be curiuos (may I even say obsessive) enough to look up why Terry Towelling is so named!

My time here has not been wasted at least...you learn something new every day!

I would never criticise anyone for the parenting choices that they make.

I spent too much money on reusable nappies that sadly I couldn't use, to be critical of someone who has made the same choice as I did initially.

Slightly off subject but breastfed dd1 until she was 20 months and still feeding dd2 who is 17 months, I realise that I'm in the minority but I wouldn't try and tell someone they were wrong or misguided if they chose to bottlefeed.

At the end of the day, we make informed choices as what is the best thing to do for our children and sometimes people will disagree.

Suppose I'm a bad parent because I freely admit to taking dd1 to McDonalds, would rather she learns from an early age that you can eat fast food as a treat as long as it is part of a healthy diet.

sorry completely off subject now

Well, you can all sigh with relief as I am off to bed now (with the reassuring sound of my nappies swishing in the machine while I sleep).

Looking back, I think the initial OP was actually very divisive; there was no place for people like me who for many reasons use both washables and disposables (although it would appear some belive I should start my own pigeon-hole type thread)

Please don't believe that all washable users are tutting at you and will come chasing after you brandishing terry towelling etc though, it isn't like that (IME). As cali said, we all just do what we think is best for our children.

So, will I be allowed back, or are you locking the door behind me?

yes, as long as I'm not banned from MN for admitting my liking for McDonalds

Ooooh Cali - I love Macdonalds!

Dd1's name starts with M, when she see's the McDs' sign she says "Oh look, it's a M for M"

don't know if I should or at that one!!

dc1 not arrived yet, so haven't used anything yet, although have one packet of Pampers newborn ready and waiting. Bambo nappies are well reviewed on MN and elsewhere (good quality/not leaky), and score well in terms of the environmental impact of production, which I understand is the key factor for disposables as modern landfill sites are all about stopping things from biodegrading so that the carbon stays locked up in the ground. Which means biodegradability is not that useful a consideration unless you're going to be composting your nappies.

The Ecologist link (which I notice is from 2005) sent me scuttling to remind myself what that Environment Agency said last year when they updated their life cycle assessment of various types of nappies. And I was to find that it has been removed from their website, seemingly explained by this story in the Times in October: www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article4969413.ece

I finally found it on the Defra website in case anybody is interested:
randd.defra.gov.uk/Document.aspx?Document=WR0705_7589_FRP.pdf

Key conclusions for me are:

"The report highlights that the manufacture of disposable nappies has greater environmental impact in the UK than their waste management by landfill."

And

"However, the study showed that the impacts for reusable nappies are highly dependent on the way they are laundered."

Oh, and that, based on the assumptions in the study, the lifecycle impact of both types of nappies was much of a muchness.

So personally, I will be doing what seems to be right for dc1 and not feeling guilty about it .

(watches tumbleweed blow across screen) Did I accidentally kill the thread? I was learning so much about poo scraping!

no, you haven't killed it, have downloaded the document from DEFRA but at 37 pages long, have just had a very quick skim through it,

happy baby = happy mummy imho!

good luck with dc1

I've read the whole thing before, but conclusions are on page 31.

Just been reading Boffin's poo link - v. interesting. DH was somewhat distressed at poo-scraping being added to his list of prospective parental duties. But he has rallied pointing out that we've never seen any official advice to this effect - surely same would apply to used sanitary towels, which I thought we were explicitly encouraged to bin rather than flush?!

Going to bed - shudder to think what dreams I will be having tonight...!

No, whatever your decision re: reusable vs disposable, the poo itself is supposed to go into the toilet, and not into landfill.

The reason, I believe, is that human excrement is not supposed to go to landfill for a variety of reasons.

Washasaurus, if I may make so bold, you came over a bit bossy and school prefecty tbh, apart from when you started joining in with the spirit of the thing, and talking about disposables. This thread is a celebration of the liberty disposables brings to modern mums, and a bit of a natter about which ones are the best value, the least awful to the environment and the best for little botties. If you want to discuss washable nappies vs disposables, then by all means start your own thread. But although I may be speaking for other people, I don't think the rest of the mums posting here want to spend hours and hours going through the same arguments about washable nappies vs disposables tbh because we've heard them all before . I think at this stage we're actually more interested in the water table and things like that, a whole different area of concern.

If we all really cared about the planet we probably wouldn't be having children anyway, or at least only having one per couple. But life ain't that simple.

Now moving on, helen31, that was a very interesting point about sanitary products and something I had never given any thought to at all, apart from obeying the edict to put them in the bin. I wonder if there are overall less of them and therefore it doesn't really impact on landfill in the same way??

Tis perhaps a different thread but I believe environmentally friendly products like non-bleached tampons and mooncups are, I gather, becoming more popular.

Personally I have only had one period in the last three years, what with being too busy populating the planet with unenvironmentally friendly babies etc so i don't know what is in fashion sanitary-wise.

Boffin is right about the whole making mums feel guilty... Yesterday there was a report about the lack of non recyclable packaging from supermarkets. And this is the real problem; as consumers we have little choice, but also that plastic that doesn't recycle is a huge impact on landfill and a much bigger issue than the contribution from disposables.

I do use reusables, partly for landfill consideration, but also for cost reasons as I find it cheaper and easier.

Mums are such easy targets. Yes, disposables do contribute to landfill, but think the real issues are manufacturers and industry...

Morning all, thanks for leaving the door ajar for me

I don't think I was being bossy or school prefecty at all. I just don't think it is necessary to slate washables just because you choose not to use them that is all Boffin.

I mean listen to yourself....'disposables give you liberty'?! Lots of people function perfectly well out and about and on holiday etc with washable nappies - they are no extra hassle. I am not chained to my washing machine and nappy bucket!

You don't have put washables down to make yourselves feel better about using disposables,that is what I was trying to say.

Fair enough you want a support thread for disposable users, but you started it off by putting down washable nappies unecessarily.
I have never seen anything negative like that with regard to disposable nappies posted on the washable users support thread.

Please don't try and ease your consciences by posting spurious crap about disposables being more enviro friendly etc.

I use disposables because at times we have to, and at times it just suits us to.

I certainly wouldn't wish to proudly boast on here about using disposables, when I know they will be sitting in landfill for the next billion years.... a problem for our children/grandchildren etc to deal with.

You've already said all that.