Nicole’s laundry service brings green benefits

A north-east woman has prevented nearly two tonnes of used nappies from being sent to landfill since she opened a specialised laundry business a year ago.

Nicole Hepburn, of Lily Loch Road, Stonehaven, launched The Nappy Laundry to encourage mothers to ditch disposable nappies and use the environmentally-friendly alternative.

She tries to make life a little easier for those who have chosen reusable nappies by collecting them, washing them in environmentally-friendly products then delivering them back to the customer.

The mother-of-two says she has saved the equivalent of 26 rubbish bins of soiled nappies – nearly two tonnes – from landfill.

“At the moment a staggering 8million disposable nappies are thrown away every day in the UK, with the majority of these ending up in landfill, so any reduction in this is a great achievement,” she said.

“With the change to the fortnightly household waste pick-ups, many families find their wheelie bin overflowing with disposable nappies.”

Chris Morrison, of Waste Aware Scotland, said: “Real nappies have the benefits of being easy to use. In addition to this they are also an important part of diverting waste from landfill.

“Although the overall environmental impact of using real nappies has been debated, the reuse of nappies will help to prevent household waste being sent to landfill.”

For more information go to www.thenappylaundry.com or phone 01569 767342.