East Suffolk Council to Review Proposal for Reusable Nappy Voucher Program

A proposal for a voucher scheme, aimed at providing financial discounts to new parents for reusable nappies, is set to be presented to East Suffolk Council. Councillor Jenny Ceresa introduced this motion, stating, “we are all aware of the climate emergency, and when you look at statistics around the amount of nappies we use it’s frightening”. A 2023 Defra report indicated that “whilst disposable nappies have a higher global warming potential, reusable nappies have a higher impact in other environmental categories”. Regarding reusable nappies, the report specified that “the main contributing factor is electricity used in pre-washing, washing and drying operations”. Councillor Ceresa, who serves as the deputy leader of the Conservative opposition group on the council and is a mother of one, remarked: “150 tonnes of nappies go to incinerator in Suffolk each year and 3,000 a day are being removed out of recycling waste, often contaminating the recycling, when it should go into the black bins.” She further suggested that the expenses for the scheme could be covered by contributions from the £7,500 locality budgets allocated to each councillor. Ceresa asserted: “I believe it is good value. It’s about the environment and looking after little ones.” She also commented: “It’s just as easy using disposable nappies,”. The motion is scheduled for presentation to the council on Wednesday. Abbie Thorrington, who attends Kesgrave library’s stay and play group with her two young children, had considered using reusable nappies but found: “The regularity they go to the toilet and the washing of them [meant] it felt too much.” Nevertheless, Ms Thorrington indicated that a voucher program would prompt her to “consider it”. India, another participant in the play-and-stay group, is expecting her sixth child and has utilized reusable nappies for all her children. She explained: “I liked it because I knew the initial cost was done before I had the baby and then I didn’t have to worry about keep buying nappies”. She also stated that “a voucher scheme would be helpful” and “I think it’s important to help the environment”. Updates on Suffolk news are available on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram, and X. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC disclaims responsibility for the content of external sites. Details concerning our external linking policy are provided.