It s good to hear that Cllr Knight supports the use of real nappies. He is probably aware that they are the right choice for reducing climate impact and saving family costs as well as cutting waste. Sadly, he has missed some of the points that Women s E

It's good to hear that Cllr Knight supports the use of real nappies. He is probably aware that they are the right choice for reducing climate impact and saving family costs as well as cutting waste.

Sadly, he has missed some of the points that Women's Environmental Network (WEN) made to the North London Waste Authority as it considered its support for Real Nappies for London.

WEN made clear that benefits shouldn't just be measured by take up of vouchers to buy real nappies (and the consequent calculated tonnage of disposable nappy waste and landfill tax avoided).

For every person using real nappies bought with a voucher, there are family members and friends who will gain from that experience. One job of Real Nappies for London is to make sure that the experience is a good one by providing information and support.

The other unmeasured benefit is that this is also a route to raising awareness about other waste issues, reaching the people who make household decisions affecting waste at a the time when they are most receptive to change, ie new mums.

All this is all hard to measure. As Viscount Leverhulme, another Conservative, said, "Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted. The trouble is I don't know which half".

Fortunately, other Camden councillors and officers understand this and take a broader and longer-term view on the benefits of promoting real nappy use.

See realnappiesforlondon.org.uk for information or the helpline 020 7324 4709.

Kay Wagland

Real Nappies Projects

Women's Environmental Network

020 7481 9004

nappies2@wen.org.uk

www.wen.org.uk

WEN is a registered charity educating, informing and empowering women and men who care about the environment. It researches and campaigns on environmental and health issues from a female perspective.