Nearly 15,000 nappies avoid landfill following launch of England’s first recycling trial

By Nicky Godding

11 October 2022

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Eco-friendly baby care company Pura has revealed that as part of a trial that’s the first of its kind in England, almost 3000kg of nappy and hygiene product waste has been collected to be repurposed from Bristol households and businesses.

This is the equivalent of around 14,400 nappies avoiding landfill and instead being turned into useful materials such as road surfaces notice boards, panelling, insulation under laminate flooring and other insulation.

The 6-month trial, currently seeing curb side collection of baby products and other hygiene items such as sanitary towels, recycled and repurposed, began at the beginning of July. Initially, 47 households and one nursery group in the Bristol area are being offered free curb side nappy collections, with waste collection services provided by Natural UK. The used nappies are being transported to NappiCycle’s plant in Wales, where they are cleansed and plastics and cellulose fibres are separated for re-use.

The project is funded by Pura and supported in an awareness drive by well-known supermarket brand Asda.

Jessi, mum of one and participant in the trial said: “The trial has been very easy so far; you just keep your nappies and pop them in the bin bag provided. I have had to change very little, and I get to feel good about helping the planet. I would love to continue having my nappies recycled after the trial.”

Whilst another, Molly, also a mum of one, added: “Knowing that our waste is being recycled is fantastic as we have had such guilt about using nappies with the current climate crisis. We are so thankful that we have been able to take part and hope it continues."

Guy Fennell, Pura founder commented: “We’ve calculated that if the 3bn nappies used each year in the UK were 100% recycled, it would be the same as removing 72,000 cars from our roads annually. We know that nappy collection and recycling works, but it requires investment and legislation change to roll out the service outside of Wales.”

The findings of the trial will be used to inform conversations with DEFRA and local authorities throughout the UK about the feasibility and benefits of nappy cycling. Costs and carbon impact will be among the outcomes monitored.

By Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe.

After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts.

She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.