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in August 2019 we applied to the Watford Mayor’s Small Grant Fund for a grant
to purchase nappies and wipes. These are
provided as part of our food bank but unlike the food , nappies and wipes are
provided solely by WTRRP and are not part of the generous donations from
Watford Food Bank. About 20
families receive one packet of disposable
nappies and wipes per month.
We
applied for £ 2,280 which would enable us to give out 2 packets of nappies and wipes a month to 20 families for 2 years.
We were lucky enough to get the grant but only on the condition that the
money was spent on reusable nappies and
wipes.
Once
we had looked into Watford Borough’s role in relation to waste management it
was no surprise that they would not grant us money for disposable nappies and
wipes .
“If Henry VIII had used disposable nappies, they would still be festering away somewhere, not yet decomposed.”
The
vast majority of nappies are not recyclable and must be thrown away with
general waste. This means they will probably end up in landfill or be
burnt. An estimated three billion
nappies are thrown away every year in the UK, accounting for 2-3% of all
household waste, according to the recycling charity Wrap. This is a serious problem as landfills are a
major contributor to global warming, continually releasing methane gas for
decades.
Watford
Borough is, together with Hertfordshire County Council and all Hertfordshire
Borough and District Councils, part of WasteAware which aims to reduce, reuse
and recycle waste in Hertfordshire.
WasteAware aims to promote the use of reusable nappies by offering a free
starter kit worth over £100 to help get families get started. WTRRP is proposing to provide suitable
clients with full kits to cover all their needs. We can then claim back £50 towards the cost
from WasteAware
It
is fairly expensive to start using reusable nappies and wipes and we reckon we
will only be able to help about 10 families.
However, once the initial nappies
and other equipment have been purchased the families will not have to
spend any more money on nappies which can also be used for any additional
children.
The
downside is that used nappies have to be stored, washed and dried – like in the
old days, although these modern nappies are
much quicker to dry. Therefore we
will check that clients have suitable washing and drying facilities before
offering them reusable nappies.
Because
some clients would not have these facilities
we had to decide whether to refuse the grant, or to ask Watford Borough
to agree that we could spend at least part of the grant on environmentally
friendly nappies, or to accept the grant
and assume we would be able to spend the money as required.
Fortunately
we were able to get a lot of information from Helena Jackson, Hertfordshire’s
Waste Aware Coordinator – also known as the ‘Nappy Guru’. She informed us that
so called ‘environmentally friendly’
nappies do not degrade quickly in landfill, in spite of all the claims on the
adverts so Watford would not provide funding for those.
However,
Helena Jackson alerted us to the hybrid model
: hybrid nappies use a waterproof outer shell with a choice of absorbent
inserts. The inserts can be reusable or disposable. The shell can be
used multiple times before washing. So
there is less washing and families have
the flexibility and convenience of using
either reusable or disposable inserts.
And for some it might become a gradual move towards reusable nappies
only, with the associated financial and
environmental benefit
So
far we have a few families interested in switching. The grant has to be spent
by September 2021 so there is time for families to consider the switch. And we will continue to offer disposable
nappies to those families who do not want to change
I
would like to thank Watford Mayors’s Small Grant Fund for their support, with a
particular thank you to Kim Bloomfield, Partnership and Funding Manager, for her patience in answering all my queries
and her interest in the work of WTRRP, and Helena Jackson, WasteAware
Coordinator, for her enthusiasm and knowledge about all matters relating to
nappies.
Grethe Hansen
December 2019
Last Updated: 7th January 2020 by wtrrp
WTRRP is awarded grant for nappies and wipes from the Watford Mayor’s Small Grant Fund
Back in August 2019 we applied to the Watford Mayor’s Small Grant Fund for a grant to purchase nappies and wipes. These are provided as part of our food bank but unlike the food , nappies and wipes are provided solely by WTRRP and are not part of the generous donations from Watford Food Bank. About 20 families receive one packet of disposable nappies and wipes per month.
We applied for £ 2,280 which would enable us to give out 2 packets of nappies and wipes a month to 20 families for 2 years. We were lucky enough to get the grant but only on the condition that the money was spent on reusable nappies and wipes.
Once we had looked into Watford Borough’s role in relation to waste management it was no surprise that they would not grant us money for disposable nappies and wipes .
The vast majority of nappies are not recyclable and must be thrown away with general waste. This means they will probably end up in landfill or be burnt. An estimated three billion nappies are thrown away every year in the UK, accounting for 2-3% of all household waste, according to the recycling charity Wrap. This is a serious problem as landfills are a major contributor to global warming, continually releasing methane gas for decades.
Watford Borough is, together with Hertfordshire County Council and all Hertfordshire Borough and District Councils, part of WasteAware which aims to reduce, reuse and recycle waste in Hertfordshire. WasteAware aims to promote the use of reusable nappies by offering a free starter kit worth over £100 to help get families get started. WTRRP is proposing to provide suitable clients with full kits to cover all their needs. We can then claim back £50 towards the cost from WasteAware
It is fairly expensive to start using reusable nappies and wipes and we reckon we will only be able to help about 10 families. However, once the initial nappies and other equipment have been purchased the families will not have to spend any more money on nappies which can also be used for any additional children.
The downside is that used nappies have to be stored, washed and dried – like in the old days, although these modern nappies are much quicker to dry. Therefore we will check that clients have suitable washing and drying facilities before offering them reusable nappies.
Because some clients would not have these facilities we had to decide whether to refuse the grant, or to ask Watford Borough to agree that we could spend at least part of the grant on environmentally friendly nappies, or to accept the grant and assume we would be able to spend the money as required.
Fortunately we were able to get a lot of information from Helena Jackson, Hertfordshire’s Waste Aware Coordinator – also known as the ‘Nappy Guru’. She informed us that so called ‘environmentally friendly’ nappies do not degrade quickly in landfill, in spite of all the claims on the adverts so Watford would not provide funding for those.
However, Helena Jackson alerted us to the hybrid model : hybrid nappies use a waterproof outer shell with a choice of absorbent inserts. The inserts can be reusable or disposable. The shell can be used multiple times before washing. So there is less washing and families have the flexibility and convenience of using either reusable or disposable inserts. And for some it might become a gradual move towards reusable nappies only, with the associated financial and environmental benefit
So far we have a few families interested in switching. The grant has to be spent by September 2021 so there is time for families to consider the switch. And we will continue to offer disposable nappies to those families who do not want to change
I would like to thank Watford Mayors’s Small Grant Fund for their support, with a particular thank you to Kim Bloomfield, Partnership and Funding Manager, for her patience in answering all my queries and her interest in the work of WTRRP, and Helena Jackson, WasteAware Coordinator, for her enthusiasm and knowledge about all matters relating to nappies.
Grethe Hansen
December 2019
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