Real Nappy Week 2014 has officially begun today (28 April), with events being held across the UK to promote the use of reusable, cloth nappies.

Organised by Go Real, the week – running from today until Sunday (4 May) – aims to encourage parents to spread the word of the benefits of using ‘real’ nappies, in an effort to crack down on landfill waste and save money.

According to Go Real, as many as three billion nappies enter the waste stream every year in the UK, generating over 355,000 tonnes of waste and an annual disposal cost (to local authorities and tax payers) of £32 million.

Further, the cost of purchasing disposable nappies is also significantly higher than reusable, cloth nappies, says Go Real, coming in at between £650 to £1300 for disposables, compared to £200 for cloth nappies.

There are a number of competitions, events, and social media activities being launched throughout the week to help promote reusable nappies.

Go Real will also be launching its ‘Pay It Forward’ campaign, which asks parents to donate unwanted cloth nappies to the social enterprise for distribution to a charity of its choice. This year, Real Nappy Week is supporting ‘Dignity Matters', a fund and goods raising organisation which has been established to support The Ruby Project- a service delivered by Glasgow Rape Crisis for Black Minority Ethnic women in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde area.

‘Using less chemicals near your baby’s skin’

The event is being supported in Wales by Recycle for Wales and will see local authorities joining with real nappy retailers to show parents how reusable nappies can help them save money as well as reduce waste.

Lyndsey Stewart from Recycle for Wales said: “Disposable nappies can take up to 500 years to bio-degrade, but by simply switching to cloth nappies instead of disposables, prevents over 4,000 nappies from going to landfill.

“Cloth nappies are soft and comfortable to wear, and if you choose the right cloth nappy for your child’s shape, they leak much less than disposables.”

One mother using real nappies, Jo Bevan Matcher from Cardiff, voiced support for cloth nappies, saying: “As a mother I chose to use real nappies mainly for environmental reasons. Using real nappies has meant that I’m not throwing as much rubbish away in my bin as I would have if I was using disposable nappies all of the time.

“There are other benefits of using real nappies such as being able to start potty training earlier and less chemicals near your baby’s skin, which as a mother is very important… By using real nappies I have built up a social network of mums who have similar views on the environment and parenting which has been really useful and enjoyable. I would urge all expecting/existing parents to give real nappies a try.”

Find out more about Real Nappy Week.