Fence-sitting on nappies not good enough, says Ward

The Environment Ministry needs to get off the fence and actively recommend to parents that they seriously look at changing to real cloth nappies, says Green MP Mike Ward.

The Party's Waste-free Spokesperson was commenting on the 'Nappies' page recently published on the Ministry's website (www.mfe.govt.nz/issues/waste/special/nappies).

"The MfE's webpage on nappies says it 'does not advocate one nappy system over another', because 'that is a personal decision that parents make'. Frankly that's not good enough," says Mr Ward.

"Of course parents have a choice, but the Ministry's job is to advocate for the environment, so it has a clear responsibility to encourage the use of the least environmentally damaging nappy. Then parents can decide whether to listen to that advice or not.

"The webpage itself clearly indicates that the referenced 'neither nappy type is better' study from the UK doesn't stack up under New Zealand conditions. When the benefit to household budgets is combined with the waste minimisation and other environmental advantages, modern pre-sewn cloth nappies are the clear winners.

"The Ministry for the Environment needs to work with other Government and community agencies to get the message out to parents that the new real nappies, combined with modern laundry methods and environmentally friendly laundry products, save time, money and the planet and are a much healthier option for babies," says Mr Ward.

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