Real nappy campaign gets MP's support

25.5.02

Edward Davey, Liberal Democrat MP for Kingston & Surbiton, has given his support to the Real Nappy Association's campaign to promote the use of real nappies instead of disposables.

Three billion disposable nappies being thrown away each year make up 4% of all domestic waste in the U.K. Mr.Davey has signed an Early Day Motion supporting moves to promote real nappies. Commenting, Edward Davey said:

"If people can use real nappies instead of disposables, even just some of the time, I would strongly encourage them to do so.

"If you consider that disposable nappies make up 4% of all household waste here, you can see what a big difference a switch could make.

"The environmental benefits are increasingly strong as landfill capacity runs out, controversial incinerator sites are sought and waste reduction becomes a priority.

"The costs of this waste are not just environmental, but financial too. Kingston Council, for example, is spending a fortune on waste disposal and that feeds through to the council tax. So less waste can mean lower taxes.

"Hospitals too can make savings on costly clinical waste by using real nappies on wards while cheaper cloth nappies give parents the opportunity to save money while preventing waste.