A REUSABLE ‘Stroud and Proud’ nappy scheme has launched aiming to reduce waste and save parents over £1,000.
Every new-born baby in the district will be given a reusable nappy by community midwives until November next year, or until supplies run out.
Parents will also be given information on how to apply for £30 cash back when buying more reusable nappies.
The initiative is jointly funded by Stroud District Council and Gloucestershire County Council, who have supported the Gloucestershire Real Nappy Project (GRNP) since 2003.
Cllr Simon Pickering, Chair of Stroud District Council’s environment committee, said: “We want to give Stroud parents the option of trying reusable nappies, by giving them a free one to try they can at least have a go and see what they are like.
"When we were putting the new waste and recycling service plans together, we knew we wanted to do something to help and support families that have children in nappies.
"Disposables not only produce a lot of waste, but cost a lot of money to buy.”
Uptake of reusable nappies is already higher in the Stroud district compared to any other area of Gloucestershire, however the majority of parents still choose to use disposable nappies exclusively.
Every day in Gloucestershire around 80,000 disposable nappies are thrown away, which costs the county council nearly £900,000 per year to send to landfill.
Kirstie Clarke, outreach worker for the Gloucestershire Real Nappies Project, said: “Parents choose real nappies for a variety of reasons, cost savings and reducing waste being the main two.
“All the mums and dads we speak to are really surprised how good modern real cloth nappies are, and how easy they are to use and wash.”
Disposables make up around 4% of the total waste stream, and it is estimated that disposable nappies can take up to 500 years to rot away.
The ‘Stroud and Proud’ nappy was designed by Stroud artist Anne Haworth and comes with a liner that can be removed and machine washed at 40-60 degrees.
An informal drop in for mums and dads called ‘Nappuccino’ is hosted by The Gloucestershire Real Nappy Project (GRNP) on the first Tuesday of every month at Beeches Green Health Centre in Stroud from 10am-11.30am.
More information about the cashback voucher, dates for Nappucinos and the GRNP can be found at http://www.recycleforgloucestershire.com/real-nappies
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