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Written question asked by Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour) on Monday, 2 October 2023, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Monday, 16 October 2023. It was answered by Lord Benyon (Conservative) on Tuesday, 10 October 2023 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Nappies: Recycling

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government what support they give, if any, to volunteer-run nappy libraries in England; and whether they have considered giving further support and, if so, in what form.

Answer

In March this year we published the findings of the Defra-funded Life Cycle Assessment of disposable and reusable nappies which looked at these products across 18 equally weighted environmental impact categories (see attachments).

The assessment shows that while disposable nappies have a slightly higher global warming potential, reusable nappies have a higher environmental impact in other ways. As there is no clear consensus on whether reusable or disposable nappies are better for the environment we have no plans to take further policy action on nappies at this time, including support for nappy libraries or the promotion of particular product types.

A number of local authorities already provide support towards upfront purchases of reusable nappies. The decision to support a reusable nappy service rests with individual local authorities and we have no plans to duplicate that work.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL10468
Session
2022-23
Attachment
Nappies LCA report; Nappies LCA summary
Grouped for answer
Yes
Subjects
Recycling Nappies
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk