On 11th June, the Whitehouse Consultancy organised a high-level Parliamentary roundtable for the Nappy Alliance with David Linden MP. Attended by a cross-party group of MPs, civil servants, NHS midwives and mums; those present called on the government to provide parents with more information about using reusable nappies.
The participants discussed the Nappies (Environmental Standards) Bill launched by David Linden MP which aims to reduce single-use plastics in disposable nappies and cut costs for local government and young families through the promotion of reusable nappy schemes.
Some of the participants in the roundtable included Sandy Martin MP, Shadow Minister for Waste and Recycling; Guy Schanschieff, Chair of the Nappy Alliance; Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville, the Liberal Democrat’s Lords Spokesperson for the environment; and Caroline Tuck from DEFRA.
David Linden MP, who moderated the discussion, said: “People may not know that the average daily use of disposable nappies has the same environmental footprint as seven plastic bags. The attendance of politicians from across Labour, Liberal Democrats, the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru is a clear demonstration that there is cross-party support for the important issue of reducing the waste load of disposable nappies.”
We were also joined by Emma Ross, @mamalinauk, a sustainability blogger and influencer who said: “The Nappies Bill would provide parents with the much-needed information and support to make using reusable nappies easy, accessible and affordable.”
The Nappy Alliance’s press release following the event featured in the newsletter and website of Nursery Today on 12th June.
Over the coming months the Alliance will be working closely with policy makers and local authorities to develop proposals for a truly national scheme that can be rolled out across the country.
