In East Sussex and Brighton & Hove, about 1.5 million
tonnes of rubbish is produced annually. At the same time, ways of disposing
of rubbish in East Sussex are becoming more difficult. Landfill sites, which
have taken most of the waste for many years will be full in the foreseeable
future and alternative sites are hard to find.
Landfilling rubbish is increasingly considered a waste of resources and a
potential source of pollution. When rubbish mixes with rainwater it decomposes
producing methane (a greenhouse gas) and leachate (a potentially polluting
liquid). Closed landfill sites have limited uses and are extremely expensive
to maintain.
There are European directives which mean that countries have to change the way they manage rubbish in the long-term. Legislation will restrict the amount and types of rubbish that are landfilled in the future. Much larger proportions of rubbish will be required to be recovered. Recovery includes recycling, composting and energy recovery from other waste treatments eg incineration.
Before 1960, babies’ nappies were terry squares secured with pins and waterproofed with plastic pants. By the 1970s, paper-pulp based pads were invented and these developed into the first disposable paper pad with plastic over-pants. It was during the 1980s that the first all-in-one disposable nappy appeared with integral plastic waterproofing. This basic design has since undergone considerable development, including the addition of chemical gels to absorb the wee, and it has become progressively thinner and more sophisticated.
These developments and mass marketing techniques have led
to a dramatic increase in the use of the disposable nappy in recent years
with the majority of parents choosing to use disposables. It is estimated
that between 400,000 and 500,000 tonnes of nappy waste per year is generated
in the UK (Government Strategy Unit, 2003).
By choosing washable nappies, parents can reduce the amount of nappy waste
produced by their household.
Even taking into account washing costs, parents could still save hundreds of pounds during the time their child is using nappies by using washable nappies rather than disposables. With more than one child the savings could be even greater, as washable nappies can often be reused on subsequent children. The amount of saving will vary depending on the type of disposable and washable nappy system being compared.