on my little soap box, again

Ok. This was in today's Guardian:

More than 1,4000 tonnes of potentially hazardous waste, including nappies, condoms and bags of blood, will be returned to Britain from Brazil as UK authorities investigate whether they were illegally exported. The Environment Agency said yesterday plans were being made to bring back the rubbish. Five Brazilian companies that imported waste between February and May have already been fined, although they said they thought they were receiving plastic for recycling. The head of Brazil's environment agency said his country was not 'a rubbish dump of the world'.

Is it the fact that we don't have the necessary facilities to dispose of this rubbish? Is it that it's cheaper to cart it off around the world where someone else can deal with it? (Oh the sickening transport costs - and now doubled since it is all heading back here).... but what really riles me is that knowing this, the government don't do more to promote (or enforce) cloth nappy use (what about disposables on prescription only, like formula milk in the Netherlands?). The Real Nappy scheme that started off in this country (by the government) has flopped. Why? Why don't they appeal to more people? My BIL once said that he'd rather do anything with his 'free' time than load up the washing machine with nappies. Like dig your own pit in the garden to bury your son's disposable nappies? I asked. Cos' that is what maybe you should do..... There is no way I could ever sit on the fence about cloth vs. disposable. I am not the National Childbirth Trust.

Three children - and I am still using the nappies I started out with. Oh plus more. But not that much more. Camping, travelling (plane, train, and automobile), shopping, restaurants, museums, day trips, holidays.... I can truly say that using cloth has been no more trouble than asking (when away for a few days) if a washing machine is available some where near. Easier than finding the local takeaway, or at least as easy as. It's not like we are talking about huge amounts of physical labour involved in washing the itty bitty cloth things either: toss them through a round door, and the eco balls and press a button. Two of my children have never ever had a disposable touch their peachy soft butt cheeks. And they only wear/wore a couple of nappies a day anyway because it's nice to be bare and who minds about a little puddle of baby milk-baby wee?

And all of this might again be made even easier and more eco friendly if we learned the art of Elimination Communication. Now I can't honestly see it catching on in a mainstream way, we are too anti-body and certainly too anti-body-excrement for that. But it would be amazing if it did. Or at least it might be practiced at home in any case. And so mid way between wanton rubbish accumulation and nakedness is cloth.

Cloth nappies (or no nappies at all, aka elimination communication) are EASY. The child who refuses to use a potty might be helped by using cloth since you pretty much feel the wetness when it happens and that is just not comfortable. For anyone. Consciousness salved too by using cloth when a child is in nappies beyond the 'normal' three years. And the estimated space of two football pitches covered in disposable nappies by then (age three years) doesn't have to extend any sickeningly further. There are even nappies that are so easy to use, you push the absorbant pad inside the cover and snap on. Even the stupidest person could figure it out. So great for grandparents or nursery care people (erm, not that thery are stupid ya hear me, just not maybe nappy savvy:) ) Check out a a napppy like FuzziBunz if that would fit your bill.

You save money. Time no. But time spent now might save the world that little bit more from being ravaged and fouled up for your child. I don't think it's that much of an exaggeration. It just might help. Ask your mother or friend if they would mind doing the occasional load of regular washing if you are struggling with a newborn. Meals too since you are in there asking for favours :)

I loathe disposable nappies. There is nothing disposable about them. Even their name is a lie. They are going no where. They'll be right here, pretty much forever (as long as forever counts to those who we hold dear in any case). I see even people putting their eco-disposables into those little vile smelling blue nappy plastic sacks. Why? We live in this very odd time. Don't we? So much has been written online and on paper about disposables and the way they are produced and the massive energy costs involved in every step of their production. There is no need for me to say it again here. It's huge.

Plus...

...using cloth means seeing little nappies blowing dry in the wind and that is soothing to the soul. And we could all do with a bit of Soul soothing after wringing our hands over The Guardian (just for the record this is the first newspaper I have EVER bought!) Therefore I must be astoundingly ignorant of so many issues you might think... And be spot on. My heart aches too much and my mind buzz's like an unhappy, angry wasp when I read newspapers. So I don't.

Which is just as well because if I did I may be posting more of these sigh inducing, soap box style posts that leave me looking like I am frowning down from my lofty pedestal. I am not, it's more like my upturned face is at the feet of mothers begging them not to toss that package of disposables into their supermarket trolly. But to go home and wrap a t-shirt around their babe's tush while they source some cloth nappies. Can you (reading this) do that?



Amen.

Kittykins, great selection of cloth nappies

Twinkle on the Web, them too.

If I offend, please feel free to never read my blog again :)