Sustainable Living with Transition Town Wellington

Spring is in the air! And this time we are going to focus on new life by looking at ways we can reduce the quantity of disposable products for babies!

As we know, newborn babes can get through a dozen or so nappies every day, not to mention those disposable wipes, most of which are really bad news for the environment. Many disposable nappies and wipes contain plastics which can take about 500 years to break down, which is pretty horrifying, especially knowing what damage they can do to the environment and especially to sea creatures.

So, let’s think about alternatives. There are reusable nappies, which can be used alone or with washable or biodegradable liners – see www.thenappylady.co.uk/reusable-nappies

Mama Bamboo makes biodegradable bamboo nappies – Bamboo Nature – which it claims will decompose relatively quickly – with at least 60 per cent of the nappy being decomposed in less than three months. They are made from sustainably sourced wood pulp and bamboo. It sounds good!

My gang of ‘road-testers’ – young parents in my friendship circle – say they are very absorbent and feel soft and silky smooth, so very comfy for baby’s bot.

Changing a soiled nappy is no-one’s favourite job, and there is a bit more work involved with reusables, but the significant upsides are that one is doing one’s bit for the environment and also – drum roll please – you are saving money.

The average baby gets through 4,000-6,000 nappies before potty training kicks in, so it’s definitely another good reason for giving reusables serious thought.

If you’re put off by the idea of dealing with a soiled nappy that you can’t just chuck in the bin, good advice is available at jilliansdrawers.com/pages/washing-cloth-diapers, which will make the job as straightforward as possible.

For reusable wipes, have a look at the lovely range at Cheeky Wipes – www.cheekywipes.com I have used these on my baby grandson and they’re great!

Sue Rickard