Recycling disposable nappies

A plunket nurse informed me that they are going to start up a recycling plant for disposable nappies.

Apparently someone in Rangiora came up with the idea. The machines will be able to separate the plastic from the cotton components in the nappies to allow for recycling. The first plant is going to be set up in the Christchurch area, she didn't have any more details or a timeline as its still in progress.

But if and when it happens, its a good start.

Oh wow thats a great idea! Now people can stop being so harsh on us ol sposie users

AliaDawn wrote: I'm pretty skeptical about the whole thing... and I wouldn't use sposies even if it worked! I love not having to pay for them every week, really cuts down on our grocery bill. Also that only fixes the landfill thing - there is still the ton of resources going into the sposies in the first place. Still, I spose every little bit helps.

Yeah totally agree. Plus theres all the energy/resources that will go into running the thing!

I was going to be a cloth mummy but it never worked out that way...I try so hard to do the right thing, save power but recycle things etc...but fall flat on my face with Nappies. Thanksfully DD is coming out of them...but by Dec I will have another one...Eeeklkks

NeoshasMummy wrote: Yeah I guess if we were on a tight budget then I would do the whole cloth thing. But this is a step in the right direction

What does using cloth have to do with your budget?

I am using them this time (have made them myself) as I feel very guilty about all the disposables I threw away last time

The nappy composting plant is due to be open later this year. It uses nappies and kitchen/woodchip waste, puts them thru a shredder and hotter rotter and turns it into compost. Its a fantastic invention (by a Chch schoolgirl) and will remove a significant amount of disposable nappies & incontinence products from the waste stream. The trial they did last year was hugely successful, and they have got Huggies on board which is a fantastic coup!

www.envirocomp.co.nz if you want to know more.

I'm a disposable user, its hard enough getting the regular washing done without dealing with nappies as well. I'm also not convinced about the real relative costs of MCN vs diposable. All credit to users of MCNs - like breast & bottle, different solutions suit different families.

We are very green in other areas of our life and have been for decades now, so for me it balances out.

Roll on the nappy composting I say :-)