Did you know that currently, across the UK as a whole, 3 billion nappies and 11 billion wet wipes are added to landfill each year. Also that 93% of the nappy and wipe industry consists of plastic single-use disposables that are not currently recycled or composted but instead sent to landfill. And that both plastic and natural fibre nappies currently make up approximately 10% of black bin waste destined for landfill.
Laura Crawford, founder of eco nappy brand Mama Bamboo hopes to change that. Not just through her company which produces bamboo eco friendly nappies and 100% compostable wipes, but also via a new petition
She is calling on DEFRA to take action on what she sees as the “woeful” state of nappy waste management in the UK.
“The current system for recycling and composting used nappies and wipes is woefully inadequate in the UK,” argues Crawford.
“The plastic versions could be sent to recycling centres, whilst the compostable versions should be sent to industrial compost facilities.
“It seems ridiculous that in the face of changing technologies and processes being proven viable, the majority of UK councils continue to send this waste to landfill simply because it’s the cheapest option.
At present only 22 councils in Wales have invested in the technology to recycle nappy and wipe waste and no one has invested in composting, despite there being excellent examples of viable processes in US, Canada, Germany and New Zealand. We are sadly lagging behind.
Speaking about Mama Bamboo Crawford says “We want to use our business as a force for good and as an opportunity to make a change to the current poor record that we have in this country in managing nappy and wipe waste. We have designed sustainably resourced disposable nappies and wipes which are compostable. We even use compostable packaging for our nappies. We don’t use the plastics that most of the major brands use but without council’s investment in a circular economy, we cannot realise the full benefit of these sustainably produced products.”
Photo by Lisa Fotios from Pexels
