BCC highlights nappy waste problem

Belfast City Council (BCC) today highlighted the damage which the dumping of disposable nappies is causing the local environment.

Over 1.5 million disposable nappies are used each year in Belfast by the city’s 8,500 babies. This equates to each baby using enough nappies to overfill a standard one tonne skip every day in Belfast's Dargan Road landfill site.

Reflecting this BCC built a symbolic nappy mountain at the front of the City Hall to highlight the damage being caused

The demonstration is part of the council’s ongoing ‘Brighter Belfast’ campaign and also marked the start of ‘Real Nappy Week’, a national initiative which aims to highlight the many benefits that come from using alternatives to disposable nappies.

Jennifer Stephens, Belfast City Council’s Waste Policy Officer and mother of two-year old Robin, said: “Each baby goes through enough nappies to overfill a standard one tonne skip and that equates to the equivalent of nine skips full of nappies being dumped at Belfast City Council’s Dargan Road landfill site every single day.

“Such high usage of disposable nappies is clearly causing damage to the environment.

“One of the major difficulties the Council faces in convincing people to switch to real nappies is to disprove some of the myths about real nappies.

“To many modern parents, real nappies conjure up images of nappy rash, boil washing and unhappy babies. However, I always found have Robin’s nappies to be easy to use and I would not use them if he was not completely comfortable and happy.”

Belfast City Council’s Consumer Advice shop, in Callendar Street, will also be running a Real Nappy Week window display until Saturday April 3 to mark ‘Real Nappy Week’.

(MB)