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Nappies

What type of nappy should I use?

Baby in nappies There is a lot of information around on the advantages and disadvantages of using different types of nappies.

The Ministry for the Environment does not advocate one nappy system over another. That is a personal decision for parents to make. You may wish to contact Plunket for information and advice. Alternatively if you search the web you will come across many nappy suppliers and a lot of information on the different nappy options. Good information and links can be found at BabyWebNZ or The Nappy Network.

The Ministry is happy to provide some information however, to allow parents to make informed decisions.

There are environmental effects associated with all nappy types.
Disposable nappies end up in our landfills. The most current estimation suggests that disposable nappies make up around 1.9% of landfill waste.
However, reusable nappies increase household water consumption, detergent and energy use.
Declaring one less sustainable than the other is a complex issue.

Research overseas

In a recent study (PDF 1.7 MB), the UK Environmental Protection Agency used life cycle analysis (LCA) to assess the environmental impacts of disposable and reusable nappies. LCAs are defined as 'the assessment of a product's full environmental costs, from raw material to final disposal, in terms of consumption of resources, energy and waste'.

In the study, disposable nappies, washing reusables at home and using a laundry service to wash reusable nappies were compared. The report stated that there was little or no difference in the total environmental effects for the different types of nappy tested. The most significant environmental impacts for the three uses of nappies were using up resources such as fossil fuels for electricity, acid rain, and global warming. These impacts occur at different stages of the life cycle for the different types of nappy.

For disposable nappies, the main impacts relate to manufacturing including raw material production and waste management. For reusables the main source of environmental impact are from generating the electricity used in washing and drying.

Context of the research

Many of the observations made about the research relate to assumptions the report made. There are suggestions the study does not provide a true comparison between disposable and "modern" reusable nappies. In particular the following criticisms:

Recent developments in reusable nappy systems are not considered
There is an overestimation in the report of the number of reusable nappies required
Assumptions made about the type of washing machine used
Assumptions made about the temperature nappies are washed at (eg a cold wash or a wash below 60°C will result in a lower level of energy use)
Assumptions made about the household chemicals applied
Machine drying is assumed, as opposed to drying on the line.
Electricity generation in the UK differs from New Zealand production, which would decrease the 'environmental footprint' of reusable nappies in New Zealand.

What does it mean for New Zealanders?

There are some conditions that the UK study does not consider which are relevant to New Zealanders. Disposable nappies (or the components used to make disposable nappies), are imported from overseas, which would add the environmental cost of transporting the materials. Additionally there are few opportunities for New Zealanders to influence the way that nappies are manufactured, because they are imported.

While there are also some environmental costs related to the manufacture of reusable nappies, most of the ongoing environmental costs are the result of energy use in the household. Users of reusable nappies have the opportunity to make energy savings and lessen their effects on the environment.

What can I do to minimise environmental impacts?

There are certain things you can do to further minimise the environmental impact of reusable nappies, these include:

only flush liners containing bowel movements
use low temperature detergents
buy more nappies initially and wash full loads
don't use fabric softener
look at the label and try washing at a lower temperature
air dry rather than tumble dry where possible

There are a huge variety of products on offer. Some disposable nappies are biodegradable and unbleached. The market for reusable nappies is offering all kinds of designs of fitted and regular cloth nappies, including unbleached ones made from organic cotton, or other media.

If you search the web you will come across many nappy suppliers. Good information and links can be found at BabyWebNZ.

For any further enquiries please contact nappies@mfe.govt.nz.