Single-use nappies and their alternatives: recommendations for policymakers from Life Cycle Assessments

When: Wednesday 23rd, June 2021, 11am – 12:30pm BST

Where: Online, register here.

In response to the request by Member States at the Fourth Session of the UN Environment Assembly in March 2019, the UN Environment Programme’s Life Cycle Initiative has undertaken a review of Life Cycle Assessments of single-use nappies and their alternatives. This was as part of a wider analysis of eight single-use plastic items in comparison with their alternatives. Published in March 2021, the report found that, by most measures, reusable nappies are better for the environment than single-use nappies.

On 23rd June, the UN Environment Programme’s Life Cycle Initiative and the Nappy Alliance will host a webinar to outline the background, methodology, and findings of the report, as well as the implications and recommendations for policymakers. The webinar will be chaired by Guy Schanschieff MBE, Chair of the Nappy Alliance.

As the report highlights, ‘Single-use nappies are one of the biggest contributors to plastic waste globally. They have environmental impacts across their entire life cycle and are also a leading cost for local authorities that are most often tasked with their disposal’.

Overall, the meta-analysis recommends that taking a life cycle perspective is essential for nappies, as the highest impacts of reusable nappies occur not in manufacturing but in the use phase, while for single use nappies, the design of the nappy (the weight and its materials) along with its management at end-of-life are the important life cycle stages.

Whether using reusable or single-use nappies, consumer education has a big role to play in reducing the environmental impact of nappies. The report urges policymakers to ‘act decisively, drawing on best practice guidelines to reduce plastic pollution and minimise environmental impact while also protecting the health and safety of their citizens.’

Speakers:

• Claudia Giacovelli, Programme Officer, UN Environment Programme (report editor)
• Dr Philippa Notten, Director, TGH Think Space and Adjunct Professor at the University of Cape Town (report author)
• Larissa Copello de Souza, Consumption and Production Campaigner, Zero Waste Europe
• Bettina Susanne Hoffmann, Assistant Professor, Technology Management and Innovation, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro
• Ralph Regenvanu, Leader of the Opposition, Republic of Vanuatu

For more information, visit https://www.lifecycleinitiative.org/library/single-use-nappies-and-their-alternatives/