Real Nappy Project

Half a million tonnes of disposable nappies are discarded in the UK every year; this product alone makes up 2-3% of all household waste.

To help stem the tide of nappy waste, since 2008 Resource Futures has spearheaded a Real Nappy Project, alongside a nappy library and incentive scheme, for Gloucestershire County Council.

Built on the success of our previous real nappy projects elsewhere, this project sees us administer the incentive scheme on behalf of the Council as well as providing a Real Nappy Advisor to promote environmental and cost savings benefits of using washable cloth nappies to parents in person, online and via dedicated social media accounts. 

or each child going full-time in reusable nappies, around 5,000 single-use nappies can be avoided; this has the added benefit that parents can typically save up to £1,000 during the time their child is in nappies.  

Gloucestershire County Council (GCC) is keen to reduce the tonnage of nappy waste sent for disposal every year: this is achieved through a practical, on-the-ground project that encourages behaviour change amongst parents and raises awareness of the benefits of reusable nappies amongst health professionals and other influential parties. 

Based on the ongoing success of this work, Resource Futures was awarded a further contract to continue with the Real Nappy Project in Gloucestershire until 2026. New initiatives over the next two years will include: 

• A focus on pre-loved nappy sales to help close the loop;
• Work with charity shops to encourage sales of preloved nappies; 
• Samples of real nappies given away in baby changing rooms;
• Work with nurseries and children’s charities;
• Wider promotion of the project’s nappy library and forming links with nappy libraries elsewhere in the UK to share ideas, knowledge and experiences.

In 2021-22, our engagement work resulted in:

• 316 incentive vouchers sent out with 297 redeemed, giving a redemption rate of 94%;
• Facebook posts with a total reach of 136,769;
• The team conducted an online survey twice a year to follow up with those who have redeemed an incentive voucher. Results from the December 2021 survey showed: 
  • 85% of respondents had recommended real nappies to a friend or relative;
  • 96% gave environmental concerns as the main motivator for using real nappies; 
• In addition, a new survey found that 62% of parents said that using reusable nappies had made them think about other ways they could reduce waste and/or live a greener lifestyle. 

The Real Nappy Project is funded by Gloucestershire County Council and is managed by Resource Futures staff.

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Charlie Eddisford
Principal Consultant

Jude King
Project and Development Manager

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Senior Consultant