Nappucino mornings aim to decrease landfill waste in Birmingham

• Aug. 24 by Rebekah Douglas (2)

Last Tuesday saw the introduction of a series of Nappucino mornings held specially for parents within Birmingham.

The event took place at Cocks Moors Woods Leisure Centre at 1:30pm hosted by the recycling department of Birmingham City Council.

The first Nappucino morning was focused on introducing the more recycle friendly ‘Real Nappy’ (which is reusable unlike the more commonly used disposable nappy) to parents as well as informing how purchasing the nappies will benefit children and the environment as well as the parents themselves, as the council will be issuing rewards for those who buy them.

Of course the council are always looking to increase recycling among citizens and finding new ways to do it. Therefore the rising popularity of ‘Real Nappies’ is the latest way for parenting brummies to practically decrease waste management.

The council said: ” The nappies can be reused time and time again, reducing your financial costs and halving the amount of rubbish you produce.”

The talks also aim to answer parent’s concerns about the cause of nappy rashes, so far stating that the use of reusable nappies is no more likely to give children a rash than the use of disposable ones.

The environmental factor that the council are trying to stress is that the nappies will majorly reduce waste in land fills, saying: “Each disposable nappy takes on average 500 years to biodegrade in a landfill site. Nappies make up 50% of the waste from a family with just one baby, so families can cut their waste in half by using real nappies. The paper from disposable nappies degrades in landfill sites to produce methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.”

A loan scheme for parents who wish to try out the nappies beforing purchasing them is also available. The loan of ‘Real Nappies’ will last for approximately 7-10 days and are provided by the “Nappy Library” located on the councils website.

Dates for the next Nappucino morning talk is yet to be confirmed and will be held at the same leisure centre as the previous talk, which is based in Kings Heath. Rewards for parents will also be confirmed at future talks.