The Agency report (see letsrecycle.com story) led to stories throughout the national press yesterday and today stating that: “Parents trying to do their bit for the planet by pinning their infants into reusable nappies might as well have been using disposables” (Guardian).
”We recognise that the study has taken nearly three years to complete and in that time there have been changes in the type of re-usable nappies used. “
– Ben Bradshaw
Channel 4's Krishnan Guru-Murthy stated that “best news of the week” was that he could have a “clear conscience” about using disposable nappies for his youngsters.
And, commenting on its own report the Agency's director of environmental protection, Tricia Henton, told parents that choosing re-usable nappies rather than disposable would not help the environment.
Questions
The report has also led to questions about the government's policy of funding campaigns promoting re-usable nappies.
Tracy Stewart, Director General of the Absorbent Hygiene Products Manufacturers Association, said: “We question why the Government is spending 2.6 million of UK tax payers' money promoting cloth nappy schemes through the Waste Resources Action Programme (WRAP) in the absence of any proven overall environmental benefit.”
Criticism from scientists involved in the waste arena pointed out to letsrecycle.com that the Agency's study was based on just over 100 parents using re-usable nappies, some of who had not used reusable nappies on their children for many years.
Minister
In a statement setting out Defra's view, Mr Bradshaw said: “We welcome the research as an independent study and look forward to receiving the results of the further work. We recognise that the study has taken nearly three years to complete and in that time there have been changes in the type of re-usable nappies used.”
The minister went on: “Government policy has always been that the choice of nappy is for the parent to decide. There are nevertheless targets to meet under the Landfill Directive to reduce the amount of biodegradable municipal waste landfilled, and use of re-uables can help contribute to achieving that target.
“Future work which will take into account modern re-usable nappy products and behaviour will clarify the situation further,” Mr Bradshaw added.
The man behind the report that kicked off the confusion over nappies yesterday defended the findings of the research, advising councils considering funding re-usable nappy campaigns to “look to the bigger winners” in trying to reduce waste produced by residents.
“Balanced”
The Environment Agency's Terry Coleman, who chaired the steering group for yesterday's report, told letsrecycle.com: “We tried to keep it as balanced as we can – we can't control the message. There was little or no difference in environmental impact, but we didn't look at the legal targets we have to meet.”
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