Nappuccino at Masons on 27th May

The next Lewisham Nappuccino will be held on Tuesday 27 May at Masons Bar and Restaurant, Ladywell (beside the train station) from 10am-midday. The event will provide lots of information and guidance on Real Nappies and their benefits from Real Nappy experts. If possible, please let Vivienne, the Real Nappy officer know if you are planning to come along as space is slightly limited (tel: 020 8314 2124) .

Real Nappies Teddy Bears' Picnic

Further to my post last week, I went along to a very well-attended and enjoyable nappucino/Teddy Bear's Picnic at Ladywell Children's Centre on Tuesday. I had the great honour of awarding the prizes for the best dressed teddy bear in a cloth nappy! Lots of mums and mums-to-be there, some of whom had children in cloth nappies, some who were contemplating it. For more info about Lewisham's Real Nappies voucher scheme see here. For further information about the excellent Ladywell Children's Centre, see here.

(I believe I got the permission of all the mums to put this photo on my blog, but if anyone has any objections, just let me know.)

Teddy Bears' Picnic and Real Nappies!

Real Nappies Week is next week (21-27 April) and there are a variety of events on in the borough to promote real nappies, including a 'Teddy Bears' Picnic Nappucino' at Ladywell Childrens' Centre:

Teddy Bears Picnic Nappuccino
Tuesday 22 April, 10am-midday, Ladywell Children's Centre, 30 Rushey Mead, London, SE4 1JJ. Come along to find out more about Real Nappies over coffee and cake. All ages welcome. 'Best Real Nappy Dressed Teddybear' prize! If you would like to attend contact Lewisham's Real Nappy Officer Vivienne Thomson .

Real Nappy Stall

Friday 25 April
Womens' Health Centre, Lewisham Hospital
10am onwards

Greenwich Market Real Nappy Event
Saturday 26 April
Greenwich Market, London SE10 9HZ
10am onwards

The Real Nappies for London scheme has run in Lewisham since 2007, when the Mayor accepted the Green Party's proposal to take part in and help fund the scheme. The service was threatened by council cuts this year, but Greens managed to secure further funding for 2008/09, despite the Lib Dems proposal to scrap the scheme (funny that, when the Lib Dems up in Camden were outraged when Barnet Tories tried to do the same, but I digress).

Lewisham offers a £30 voucher to parents towards the costs of buying real nappies, as incentive to encourage their use over disposables and to and reduce the amount of money the Council has to spend collecting and incinerating disposable nappies.

Last time I blogged about Real Nappies, there was a heated debate over on Brockley Central about whether the Council should be signed up to the scheme, but the latest figures have shown that Lewisham is one of London's most enthusiastic boroughs for 'real nappies', with parents' take-up of the vouchers' scheme being the third highest in London.

Yes, the scheme costs money to run, and at the moment it costs more than it saves in waste disposal costs, but longer-term, as more parents take up the voucher offer, this won't necessarily be the case. There is also a wider issue about waste reduction, reducing carbon emissions by transporting less waste around the borough and raising awareness of environmental issues. It also costs more to collect and process recycling than sending all our waste to the incinerator, but I think most people would agree that we shouldn't scrap our recycling service.

It costs the Council £52.31 per household per year to collect domestic waste and municipal waste disposal costs per tonne are £40.60. Disposable nappies comprise 4% of the waste stream in Lewisham, and for a family with a child in disposable nappies, they can comprise as much as 50% of the waste in their wheelie bin. So, giving families a £30 voucher to reduce their waste by half for approx 2 years (more if they go on to have more than one child) can save £52.31 in waste disposal costs. The more people who join the scheme, the more cost-efficient it becomes once administration costs are factored in.

Parents are estimated to save as much as £500 per child by using real nappies. To kit out a baby in real nappies can cost under £50. The same amount of money would only buy seven weeks of disposables. And of course the savings are greater for any subsequent children you may have.

Brockley to host Lewisham's First Nappucino Morning!

On Tuesday I went along to Bellingham Children's Centre for the offical Lewisham launch of Real Nappies for London. Met a number of mums using real nappies with their children and mums-to-be considering doing the same. I am delighted that the scheme is now off the ground in Lewisham. This was one of the Green Group budget amendments which the Mayor accepted earlier this year.

The voucher scheme is designed to encourage and reward parents and carers who do their bit to reduce waste. Using real nappies saves money and helps protect our environment. As much as 4% of Lewisham's waste stream is made up of disposable nappies (for families with young children, upto 50% of their weekly waste is nappies). Using real nappies in Lewisham diverts waste from incineration. Click here for info on the benefits of using real nappies over disposables.

Along with our other budget amendments such as the pilot green waste collection service, cheaper business recycling, a reusable cotton bag scheme and extra money to promote recycling and energy efficiency, the Real Nappy scheme is an excellent example of how elected Greens in Lewisham are working to make a difference and create a more sustainable borough.

Lewisham has 200 £30 vouchers available on a first come first served basis, which can be redeemed either against the cost of buying nappies or put towards paying for a nappy laundering service. The women I spoke to from Nappy Lady and Bumbletots said that there had already been a number of enquiries from the Brockley area.

Also, excitingly, Lewisham's First 'Nappuccino' is taking place from 10am-midday on Friday 9 November 2007 at the Toads Mouth Too Cafe, 188 Brockley Road, London, SE4 2RL. If you would like to attend please contact Vivienne Thomson, Lewisham's Real Nappy Officer. "Real nappies save money and waste and are easier than you think. Come to a friendly chat over coffee and find out more".

Official Opening of the Ladywell Early Childhood Centre

On Friday I went along to the official launch and opening of Ladywell Early Childhood Centre in Rushey Mead. Since Romayne and I went there a few weeks ago, the staff had put in a huge amount of effort to get everything ready for the grand opening. Wonderful facilities and I would encourage anyone with under-fives to go along and see how they can make use of them. There are also computers with internet access for public use. I was chatting to Heather Watkinson, the Real Nappies officer, whose mind was clearly working overtime when she saw the laundry room and the potential for real nappies there. A ‘stakeholders group’ is being set up soon and one of the things it will look at is how the local community wants to use the facility and how, for example, it could be used at weekends.

Real Nappies For London - Lewisham Launch

Please find below details of the forthcoming Lewisham launch of Real Nappies for London. This has come about as a result of our Green group budget amendments earlier in the year. See also my previous posts on this.

The Real Nappies for London in Lewisham launch event on Tuesday 30 October at The Bellingham Children’s Centre, 109 A Randlesdown Road, Lewisham, SE6 6HB
From 10.00-10.30am – Welcome from Heidi Alexander, Deputy Mayor and Real Nappy Experts from 10.30am-1.00pm – Real Nappy Drop-in

Come along to find out more about the benefits of Real Nappies and our £30 voucher scheme, and to check out the fantastic range of nappies available.

If you would like to attend the first part of the event please contact Vivienne Thomson, Real Nappy Officer, at vivienne.thomson@lewisham.gov.uk by October 23 otherwise just drop in at any time between 10.30am-1.00pmFor more information, and to register for a £30 voucher visit www.realnappiesforlondon.org.uk

Real Nappies for London Update

The Real Nappies for London scheme (RNfL) which was officially launched in June is now getting off the ground in Lewisham. A part-time officer to promote and administer the Real Nappies scheme has been appointed and it should be launched locally soon. In the meantime, parents in the borough with children in cloth nappies can claim their £30 voucher. Details here (the site also has lots of useful information on real nappies, including nappy exchanges etc).

Lewisham joined the scheme as a result of a Green budget amendment. Previous posts on nappies here.

Real Nappy Week 11th-18th March 2007

Real Nappy Week kicks off this Sunday and there are a number of events planned in Lewisham. Nappies are a significant chunk in the waste stream, with approximately 8 million nappies thrown away in the UK every day. I think promoting real nappy use is an area that Lewisham has not devoted sufficient resources to in the past, on the basis perhaps that as we have an incinerator we don't have to pay landfill tax for our nappy mountain.

So I was of course delighted when we managed to get our Green budget amendment for funding for the Real Nappies for London incentive scheme passed at full council last week. This funds the cost of joining the Real Nappies for London scheme, which is launching later this year, and for 200 local families to get £30 vouchers towards the cost of buying real nappies.
Anyway, the events:

Monday 12 March, Lewisham Town Centre - Lewisham Council will be hosting an education trailer along with Bumbletots Ltd to provide free information and advice on using real nappies.

Thursday 15 March, Lewisham Library, ground floor cafe – The Women’s Environmental Network will have a stall set up with nappy samples and will offer tutorials on how to put a real nappy on.

New mums and expecting mums will also be in with a chance of winning a nappy pack and one months free laundry service with three runners up winning a nappy pack.

Mums can enter by either visiting the education trailer on Monday 11 March or by emailing recycle@lewisham.gov.uk with their name, telephone number and expected delivery date/age of their new born. All emails must be entitled with the subject “Real Nappy Week”.

The advantages of using real nappies are:

• Parents are estimated to save around £500.
• To kit out a baby in real nappies will cost under £50. The same amount of money would only buy seven weeks of disposables.
• Disposable nappies are made of super-absorbent chemicals, paper pulp, plastics and adhesives, while real nappies are mostly made of natural fabrics better for a babies skin.

Nappy facts:

• It is not known how long it takes for the plastics in disposable nappies to decompose but it is estimated to take hundreds of years.
• Nappy disposal costs hundreds of thousand of pounds per year for each local authority.