We need to make a change! In the first years of a child’s life, parents change on average, 6000 nappies. Typically, an infant requires 12 nappy changes a day and a toddler requires 6-8 nappy changes a day. That’s around 42 - 84 disposable nappies in the bin a week! Across Australia and New Zealand, 3.75 million disposable nappies are used daily and each take up to 500 years to break down in landfill. Imagine how many nappies we could keep out of landfill if using cloth became the norm.

There are many different types of cloth nappies, from the old-fashioned terry towelling nappies, to modern cloth nappies (MCN), which are usually designed to fit bub from around 3.5kg up until toilet training. They do not require wet-pailing like the old-fashioned terry squares, and are easily maintained with a simple and effective wash routine.

The only downside is the initial set up of your cloth nappy stash; it can be expensive, as full-time day and night use requires 24 to 30 cloth nappies. Ranging from $10 - $65 each, it's a substantial cost required to set up... but ultimately it will save families approximately $4000 per child. 

As initial set up costs can be a deterrent, we the undersigned hereby petition that Lake Macquarie City Council, Newcastle City Council and Port Stephens Council follow in the lead of many other councils in NSW and offer a rebate of 50% off the purchase price, to a maximum of a $200, rebate (to include environmentally sustainable options: cloth and reusable swim nappies, reusable wipes, reusable breast pads, reusable period underwear and reusable menstrual pads).