ALTERNATIVES TO DISPOSABLES

From birth to old age we use disposable nappies, period products and incontinence materials. Disposable nappies are one of the biggest contributors to plastic waste globally with a baby getting through as many as 5,000 nappies before they are potty trained. It’s not just nappies. Other personal products, such as period wear, are adding to the plastic epidemic with up to 2 billion menstrual items being flushed down Britain’s toilets every year causing sewage blockages and ending up in the sea. A year’s worth of period products has a carbon footprint of 5.3Kg CO2 equivalent. As well as the costs to the planet these items are costly for women and families too. Disposable nappies can cost on average £825 per baby and on average a woman will use 11,000 disposable period products costing £5,000 during her reproductive life.

We’ve grown used to these being disposable but there are now environmentally friendly products available. Reusable items are improving and are easy to use, as well as being kinder to the environment and cheaper. More families are switching to reusable nappies and different forms of period wear can be found in any High Street these days. HEAT is building up a supply of reusable personal products, such as cloth nappy demo kits for new babies, and will be giving people the opportunity to see what they are like and think about whether they would work for them and their lifestyle. Even using reusable products now and again will make a difference.   

Our first workshop is on period products at 5pm on March 27th.