A nappy revolution

MOST Australian parents now rely on disposable nappies but they could save as much as $1000 a year by opting for modern versions of the old cloth nappy.

THE convenience of disposable nappies has led to 95 per cent of Australian parents relying on them exclusively, but they could save as much as $1000 a year by opting for modern versions of the old cloth nappy.

Environmental issues aside, disposable nappies are a regular expense for new parents.

"You can spend your entire Baby Bonus on disposable nappies by the time they're toilet-trained,'' Meaghan Siemensma, a Melbourne mother who has put her three children in modern cloth nappies, said.

"I've saved $20 a week on each child, so it's up to $5000.'' In 2007, Ms Siesmensma convinced her local council to support a trial of cloth nappies.

Twelve families used cloth nappies for a fortnight and were pleasantly surprised. All said they would continue to use cloth nappies  and recommend them to friends.

Parents often quell their guilt about the one billion nappies a year tossed into landfill by citing the convenience factor.

But the Darebin Council study concluded: "From a cost and landfill perspective, modern cloth nappies are a substantially better alternative. From a time perspective, disposables are a marginally better option; an average saving of five minutes a day.''

Ms Siesmensma said modern nappies did not need to be soaked.

"I wash every day at 60C in a front-loader, and it takes just five minutes,'' she said.

The environmental impact of disposable nappies versus home-laundered and commercially laundered nappies has been analysed in a British life cycle study that concluded neither had a better or worse performance.

A dream nappy - with the absorbency of a disposable and the cost benefits of a cloth nappy - may have been developed by Port Stephens mum Alex Pudney.

Necessity was the mother of invention when, with two nappy-clad infants in the household, Ms Pudney's husband left the air force to study medicine.

"Two kids in disposable nappies is $2000 a year, so I started making my own to save,'' she said.

The result is Pea Pods - nappies that look like Speedos but have washable inserts made of highly absorbent bamboo which, like a disposable, need to be changed every three hours.

Australian mums are giving them the thumbs-up.

"We're now the largest supplier of reusable nappies,'' Ms Pudney said.

Ballina mother Shasi Johnston opted for Pea Pods before her daughter was born. ``We wanted an environmentally friendly option,'' she said. But do they keep baby Anjali's bottom as dry as disposables?

"Yes. When she was a newborn she was very small so we had some leakage, but now they're perfect.''

Ms Johnston, who has a financial background, outlaid $600 for 20 Pea Pods and accessories, but said she was already ahead.

"We still use disposables when we travel, and you get 44 nappies for $30.

"You don't have to fold Pea Pods and you don't have to soak them. We store them in a dry bucket with the lid on and do the washing every three days.

"We brag about them.''