By the end of this year, two-thirds of the nurseries operated by Tops are expected to be using washable nappies.
The move follows a successful pilot of the use of reusable, washable nappies at the Southsea setting.
Cheryl Hadland, chief executive of Tops Day Nurseries, told Nursery World they had recently discovered that their waste provider was sending some of their nappies to landfill in particular areas, and not to incineration as they had thought.
Currently, the nurseries in Southsea, Lakeside, Queen Alexandra Hospital Baby Unit and Corfe Mullen have made the switch from disposable to reusable nappies for all the children in their care. A further six nurseries are due to follow suit shortly.
Tops Lakeside have received a lot of positive feedback from their parents since they started their nappy trial and now all of their babies are using reusable nappies.
One parent, Laura Cleverly, said, 'It’s better for the environment, more cost-effective in the long run, [they] look more comfortable to wear and you never have to worry about running out of nappies.'
All the settings using the washable nappies have been issued with commercial washing machines, shower head rinsers, reusable gloves, tongs and Scandinavian drying cabinets, which the nursery group says are eco-friendly and, unlike tumble dryers, preserve the longevity of the cloth nappies.
Tops' sustainability manager Barbara Chaitoff said, ‘Reusable nappies are a huge benefit to the planet and better for the child. We are proud that we are not sending thousands of nappies to landfill or incinerators, causing micro plastics to invade our oceans, food chain and negatively impact health and wellbeing.
‘We are also supporting UK business in purchasing the nappies.’
Another benefit, according to the nursery group, is that children are quicker to potty train as the ‘design of disposable nappies means babies and toddlers can not feel when they are wet.’
Ms Chaitoff said that staff have been ‘very receptive’ to the change of policy and process, and are ‘fully invested’ in the group’s sustainability goals.
Nappy loan scheme
Tops is also continuing with its reusable nappies trial loan scheme for parents and staff, which it launched in 2019.
All staff who have new babies are provided with a single washable nappy pack while on maternity leave and offered a hamper of reusable nappies.
The group says it has seen an increase in parents and staff ordering their reusable nappy hampers and has received positive feedback from parents who have been happy to make the switch at nursery and home.
Ms Hadland said, ‘Even if parents just use one washable nappy per day they will save a lot of money and a lot of waste.
‘Parents with a washing machine at home and space to dry nappies will find the change very do-able and will save money, but parents without these facilities will find washable nappies much harder.’
However she added, ‘Other countries such as Brazil are beginning to provide a nappy rental service to parents, which I think is the way to go, but [this is] currently being blocked in the UK because disposable nappies are comparatively very cheap to buy, as the cost of their waste is not accounted for in the manufacturers' selling price.'
The move to real nappies aligns with the nursery group’s commitment to sustainability and reducing plastic pollution. In December the group achieved 'Green Flag' status from Eco-Schools at all of its 30 settings across the South of England.