#MinimiseWaste Hot Tip > Reusable Nappies

According to stats from the world wide web, Australians use over 6 million disposable nappies a day - which equates to over 2 billion used nappies going into landfill sites each year and it is estimated to take about 200-250 years for them to decompose.

Even the production of disposable nappies present some amazing stats, as they use 3.5 times more energy, 8.3 times more non-renewable resources and 90 times more renewable resources than reusable nappies or modern cloth nappies (as I have just heard them referred to).

This week's #MinimiseWaste Hot Tip comes from Mrs W, who has recently had her second bubba, a gorgeous little man affectionately known as Duck and you guessed it, she is using reusable nappies.

Mrs W has the following pro's and con's to share on modern cloth nappies (MCNs)...

Pros of MCNs

Less waste - we were using about 10 disposables per day. Older babies use less but I would estimate that we will keep at least 3000 nappies out of landfill.

Cheaper - especially as we were given most of our stash second hand and bought the rest on Gumtree.

Aesthetics - I'm looking forward to summer when he can show off the cool colours and patterns.
Apparently they are also better for preventing nappy rash.

Cons of MCNs

Overwhelming - there are so many different brands and different types. We were given ours from a friend which meant I didn't have to do any research. (If you're interested they are itti bitti snap in ones which basically means you have a shell and snap your preferred combination of soaker pads in.)

High start up costs - You need at least 15 nappies but its worth checking out eBay and Gumtree for second hand. The ones we're using have been used by 2 other babies and are still in great condition.

Leakage - they have lots of great features but when it comes down to it MCNs are not as absorbent as disposables. I don't really care about the odd leak because I'm washing all the time anyway. We still use disposables at night as I find he can go the whole night in one nappy.

Washing - You need to do a load every second day. I'm sure this adds to our water and power usage/cost. We dont have a dryer but fortunately we have had great weather and have space to hang them inside if its raining. I also didn't start using them until he was about 6 weeks - I might have found it all a bit much in the first few weeks.

Travel - I take MCNs in my nappy bag for day outings and just put the dirty ones in a wet bag but if I was going away for the weekend I think I'd take disposables for convenience.

Do you use MCNs?

Got any pros and cons?

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