Disposable nappies

Disposables are waterproof on the outside and highly absorbent on the inside.

There are several advantages to disposable nappies:

• They are efficient and should absorb wetness without leaking
• They usually fit well, especially on newborn babies
• They are easy to put on and take off
• They are convenient when out and about
• They are labour saving because you don’t have to wash and dry them

The disadvantages of disposables are their cost and their effect on the environment:

• They are more expensive than reusables
• They can be bulky to transport home from the shops
• You need space to store them until they are used
• They add to the nation’s (and the world’s) problem of waste. You put them out with the household rubbish; then they are taken to landfill sites. There they remain for many years, as the materials used in their manufacture do not rot down quickly or easily
• There is also a possible risk that vaccines and pathogens (disease-causing organisms) excreted in the nappy can reach water sources and cause infection