And, in a letter to UK local authorities, the Absorbent Hygiene Products Manufacturers Association called on councils to question the government's spending on schemes promoting washable nappies among parents.
The AHPMA's message to councils was that there are more important things to worry about than the disposal of disposable nappies.
”We question why the government is spending 2.6m of UK tax payers' money promoting cloth nappy schemes through WRAP, in the absence of any proven overall environmental benefit. “
– Letter from the AHPMA to local authorities
The Association believes more efforts should be put into tackling non-household waste, tackling planning barriers to new waste treatment plants and getting the public to accept alternative forms of waste management.
Environment
The letter from the disposable nappy lobby came as a further consequence of a report published by the Environment Agency earlier this month. The report stated that “there is little or no difference between the environmental impact of re-usable and disposable nappies”.
Research behind the Agency's report was called “seriously flawed” by critics, and its findings were slammed for concentrating on energy use in nappies without highlighting waste or landfill impacts (see letsrecycle.com story).
In the letter to councils, the AHPMA's director general Tracy Stewart said that authorities that are currently running or considering adopting a scheme to promote cloth nappies should bear in mind the findings of the Agency study.
Ms Stewart advised councils: “Where literature is produced checks should be made to ensure it is accurate and balanced, and should not lead parents to think that either type of nappy has an overall environmental advantage.”
The letter acknowledged the contribution of disposable nappies to total solid landfill waste – as 0.1% of the waste stream. However, it did not acknowledge that European targets for the reduction of landfill focus mainly only on biodegradable municipal waste.
Spending
Ms Stewart attacked the government for its spending on washable nappy promotion schemes, and cast doubt on the auditing of schemes promoting re-usable nappies.
She told councils: “We question why the government is spending 2.6 million of UK tax payers' money promoting cloth nappy schemes through the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), in the absence of any proven overall environmental benefit nor having conducted any independent audit of the schemes to establish financial transparency and understanding of the likelihood of their success. We would ask that you question this also.”
Facilities
Explaining some of the reasons behind the letter today, Ms Stewart told letsrecycle.com that her association believed more could be accomplished putting money towards improving other aspects of waste management in the UK. She said councils should put efforts into making planning easier for waste facilities and work towards getting the public to accept alternate forms of waste management.
She said: “We just feel the energy would be better put towards easier planning and acceptance of real waste management options.”
The AHPMA is supporting the use of waste management systems including mechanical biological treatment to treat solid municipal waste, and Ms Stewart's letter advocated the compatibility of nappies for waste-to-energy plants.
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She told letsrecycle.com that in the Netherlands, local authorities are beginning to allow householders to place disposable nappies in organics recycling bins for treatment at an anaerobic digestion plant.
Jos Glansbeek, director at AHPMA's counterparts in the Netherlands, the Dutch paper diaper manufacturers' association (NUPL), confirmed that householders in Weert are taking part in a “very successful” Bio-plus scheme in which diapers and organic waste is treated in a similar fashion to animal by-products in the UK.
A response to the points made in the letter from the AHPMA is expected from Defra and the Waste and Resources Action Programme soon.
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