Why choose real nappies over disposable?
The average baby gets through 5,000 disposable nappies from birth till being potty trained, which costs parents between £700 and £1,000! The main component of disposable nappies is paper pulp fluff, increased demand for which is beginning to threaten forests in Canada, Scandinavia and the Baltic States. Other components include plastics, adhesives and absorbing chemicals, which could react with babies who have sensitive skin. Most disposable nappies will end up in landfills, where they can take hundreds of years to decompose, with an estimated disposal cost of £40 million a year. As the bio-degradable components of the nappy break-down in the landfill site, methane and carbon dioxide are produced, which are both greenhouse gases contributing to global warming and climate change.
