The Bradford Real Nappy Project grew out of Bradford Real Nappy Network when it obtained landfill tax funding via Bradford Environmental Action Trust and became one of the projects of BEAT in May 2003 with the aim of increasing the use of real (or washable nappies) in the Bradford and Keighley districts, thereby reducing disposable nappy waste from landfill sites.

Bradford Real Nappy Network was a community group of mums seeking to give other parents the information they needed to make an informed choice about the nappies they used. The project shares the aims of the original group and some founding members are on the project's steering group.

The aim is to reach new parents in the area with awareness raising and promoting the case for real nappies; this enables parents to make an informed choice. The Bradford Real Nappy Project also aims to promote the use of real nappies among health and child care professionals.

The awareness raising campaign involves attending and giving talks at ante- and post-natal classes, parent groups and family events. This is followed up with individual or group advice to help families get started with using real nappies.

The project is also building on and extending existing support from health and child care professionals - midwives, health visitors, child care staff, all who have front line access to new parents. Their attitude and up-to-date knowledge about real nappies will have a big impact on parents' decisions as to nappy use.

Bradford District has one of the highest birth rates in the country. This adds up to a lot of nappy waste. Switching to real nappies would also save a lot of families a lot of money.

Using real nappies could save parents more than £600 in the average 2 and half years that the baby is in nappies. There are also chemicals in the plastic and gels in the disposable nappies, which can affect a baby's skin. The environmental impact of the use of disposable nappies is unquestionable. Eight MILLION nappies are thrown away every day in Britain. These nappies take 100's of years to decompose and the sewage component should not enter landfill.

The project has grown to have 3 part time workers and currently has funding from Bradford Vision, Defra’s Waste Partnership Fund and from the CRED programme part of the big lottery fund. Our funding has been secured till Dec 2007.