MPs and campaigners met in parliament on Wednesday 11 June to call on the government to provide parents with more information about using reusable nappies.
The House of Commons roundtable was attended by a cross-party group of MPs, civil servants, NHS midwives and mums, who came together to discuss the Nappies (Environmental Standards) Bill which aims to reduce single-use plastics in disposable nappies and cut costs for local government and young families.
The bill was launched by David Linden, MP for Glasgow East, and looks to establish an industry and government-led voucher scheme to promote reusable nappies as well as legislation to ensure manufacturers cannot make false eco-friendly claims.
“People may not know that one disposable nappy has the same environmental footprint as seven plastic bags,” he said. “[It is clear that] there is cross-party support for the important issue of reducing the waste load of disposable nappies.”
He continued: “The Nappies (Environmental Standards) Bill has real potential to help empower parents to make informed choices about the nappies that they use for their children, as well as cutting waste costs for local councils and making a huge reduction on single-use plastics that end up in our environment.”
The Bill is supported by the Nappy Alliance, a trade association of reusable nappy manufacturers.
Guy Schanschieff, CEO of reusable nappy manufacturer Bambino Mio and chair of the Nappy Alliance, added: “Reusable nappies have increased in popularity in recent years but there is much more that can be done.”
The UK throws away nearly three billion nappies a year, over 90% of which will go through household waste streams and end up in landfill where they can take up to 500 years to decompose.
