Reusable nappy scheme to be explored in Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon council area

The matter was raised at the latest meeting of the committee by Alliance Party Councillor Jessica Johnston.

The Lagan River councillor asked if a report could be brought back to committee detailing the possible impact of the local authority providing such a scheme to its residents, how viable it could be and how it works in other Northern Ireland areas.

“It is quite widely available in other council areas having been set up in the past couple of years and I think it would run quite well alongside our ‘don’t rubbish our future’ campaign.

“It may also prove financially beneficial for the council to set such a scheme up and could benefit many families with young children who want to reuse nappies and save money in these times.”

The council’s head of environmental services, Barry Patience, confirmed officers would bring a report back to committee on this matter.

“We had looked at this in the past but it has been a number of years so I will certainly refresh those reports and bring them up to date and back to members.”

In September 2020, Mid Ulster District Council backed plans for the launch of a scheme.

A report produced by its officers at the time claimed across the UK around three billion nappies are disposed of each year and the cost to parents is on average between £800 and £900 per year.

It also claimed that in comparison, a child only requires 20 to 30 reusable nappies, which can also be reused by other siblings. It is estimated this could save parents between £200 and £500 over two-and-a-half years for their first child and more if re-used for subsequent children.