Australia is one of the highest producers of household waste in the world and one of the biggest offenders is disposable nappies and other sanitary items. These products take up large amounts of space in landfill and take hundreds of years to break down. There is also a significant environmental impact associated with their production, both in terms of carbon generated and water usage. Impacting our future generations.

In order to reduce this waste, many Councils across the state (e.g. Casey, Wyndham and Cardinia) and overseas have introduced a rebate for households to offset the cost of purchasing reusable alternatives such as cloth nappies, cloth wipes and menstrual cups.

We are proposing that Knox Council join these Council in offering a rebate, to contribute towards the investment parents and women in the local area make towards reusable alternatives. I am starting this petition to show Knox Council that residents in the community would like access to a rebate for cloth nappies and reusable sanitary products.

Such a rebate can significantly assist in waste reduction - with Councils overseas saving thousands in dollars in waste cost. Reducing waste and rates!

In terms of specifics, we are petitioning for Knox Council to match or do better than Cardinia Shire's rebate of 50% of the cost of reusable sanitary products*, up to $150.

*These products could include:

- Cloth nappies (all ages)
- Swim nappies
- Nappy liners
- Cloth wipes
- Wet bags
- Nursing breast pads
- Cloth menstrual and incontinence pads
- Menstrual cups
- Period underwear
- Period wet bags

Only residents within the Knox Council are encouraged to sign this petition.