Washable diapers, why not?

by Federica Gemma

The washable nappies are a reality that is re-consolidating over time: there were into the'70s, then they‘ve been supplanted by the disposable model. Now they are back in vogue to tackle the long standing problem of waste which can not be differentiate.
Both the Province of Turin and the Province of Naples have seen in this product, improved and changed respect to the old "ciripà" model, a resource for waste reduction, by promoting and publicizing that to the new generations of parents.The initiative of the Province of Turin is called "Into the cradle + health - waste" and it has been active since 2008; the Province of Naples has began this year with the initiative "No more time to throw . Good habits to reduce waste generation: the washable diapers".
Both the campaigns are designed to promote the use of washable nappies to new parents, although with different approaches and methods.

The project of the Province of Naples, says the engineer Monica Casale of the Environmental department, was born from the collaboration with the Association "Nonsolociripà" and the website www.nonsolociripa.it. “Not having budget for more big initiatives, the assessor Giuliana Di Fiore has been interested in the initiative promoting a conference in Naples the 3 of april. The conference had as partners pediatricians, obstetrics, doctors and pharmacists and as speakers prominent representatives of these groups”.
In practice, the communication campaign has been conveyed by the conference and presented in the first instance to those who (doctors, obstetrics, etc.) have a first contact with new parents.
The messages of waste reduction, cost savings and health of the child have been passed through the channel more authoritative for the family: the doctor. “The campaign also consists in brochures and posters to be distributed to stakeholders (clinics, hospitals ..) and the environmental associations -says Casale- we created a network of retail outlets of washable nappies at the pharmacies. This list is downloadable from the website of the Province “.

The project of the Province of Turin is already well established, it has begun in 2008 on two territories, Beinasco and Chieri. Having success, it has been extended during this current year to all the municipalities into the province.
The communication campaign is based on the principle of money -off coupon to buy a kit of washable nappies, which can be obtained by contacting the provincial office. With a target so well delineated, the dissemination of news has been made by the institutional web site and by the dissemination of leaflets into the places of interest, such as hospitals, kindergartens, clinics for children.
Some partners at the local level have also taken up and amplified the campaign: AMIAT, for example, has produced and distributed their own materials.
Rather than the visibility it has been preferred to invest in the content, explain the assessor to sustainable development and environmental planning Angela Massaglia and Agata Fortunato, her spokesman: "We decided to invest most of the resources in the voucher to families, rather than in a great communication campaign involving many media on the territory removing resources to be used to purchase kit nappies”. This kit is available in different brands and types, depending on the needs of families. "This choice has a special meaning: it’s a family’s choice, not made by the Province", explain the promoters.

Different strategies, but common objective: the reduction of waste at source, from newborns.