Real Nappies for London - Proposal for 11/12

Real Nappies for London – Proposal for 11/12
1        Introduction

The Real Nappies for London (RNfL) programme is now well established and has been helping reduce nappy
waste since July 2007 with a proven track record of stimulating the market in London for real nappies. The RNfL
web site attracts 1,500 – 2,000 unique visitors per month, local real nappy information sessions attract 20-30
customers a time and the RNfL voucher scheme has served 7,460 parents and engaged 14 authorities. We
estimate that since it started the RNfL programme has diverted 1,776 tonnes of nappy waste from landfill.
However it has not become the pan-London scheme that it needs to be to reach its potential.

As the co-founder, delivery body and owner of RNfL, London Community Resource Network (LCRN) remains
committed to the programme and this paper sets out our proposals for the programme to 2011/12. These
proposals take account of stronger policy targets for achieving zero waste and also the increasing requirements
of boroughs for a flexible scheme that meets the challenges presented by the current economic climate. One of
the most important ways that local authorities can save money is via increased waste prevention which reduces
landfill tax bills whilst also making savings in reducing the number of refuse vehicles on the road. As the London
Mayor, Boris Johnson says in the draft waste strategy “The best option is to prevent waste from entering the
waste stream in the first place.”

LCRN wants to expand the benefits of RNfL to more boroughs, and to increase its impact beyond direct waste
prevention associated with nappies to wider waste prevention and reuse issues in the early years of the family
lifecycle. The RNFL scheme along with its supporting web portal, marketing and supplier network provides a
unique opportunity to engage individuals on reuse of other items such as children‟s clothing, toys and furniture,
leading to waste prevention beyond the obvious benefits of reducing of nappy waste. This is an opportunity for
joint-procurement, for all boroughs to share resources and best practice and avoid duplication of effort.

2        Responding to the consultation

We have been reviewing the RNfL programme to work out how to involve more boroughs and make it more
effective and affordable. The Breakfast Briefing was a part of this consultation and the suggestions you made
have been incorporated into the revised scheme we have presented below.

The proposals we have developed provide a range of opportunities for boroughs to become actively engaged in
the real nappies scheme and reflect the feedback we received through the consultation process. These options
will allow boroughs to maintain involvement with the scheme despite the challenging economic circumstance we
are all facing.

         Some of you told us you wanted something less expensive than the voucher system.
         Some of you told us you wanted a low cost option that enabled you to invest wisely with low risk but
         enabled you to see whether the uptake from your residents led to savings that justified the amount you
         spend.
         Others wanted the services and costs to be broken down so they could see clearly what they would be
         buying.
         You would also like to see the Real Nappies for London scheme work more closely with the national
         campaign, Go Real to prevent duplication of effort and maximise impact.

We have listened to your views and have developed four options that can meet your different needs and
priorities. We are also able to offer a joint Go Real and RNfL membership emphasising our role as an information
provider and behaviour changer. There is much activity going on already, by high street and small retailers,
nappy laundries, parents and local authorities. Our role is to use the strength of the brand and the trust expectant
parents have in health professionals to raise awareness of alternatives to disposable nappies and most
importantly, help people buy real nappies and find out how to use them successfully.

3         A broader view

The major success over the last 3 years of running the RNfL scheme has been winning the trust and
endorsement of health professionals; midwives, health visitors, nursery workers, GPs and more. RNfL applicants
tell us where they heard about the scheme when they apply and whilst the largest proportion in most boroughs is
„word-of-mouth‟, hospital and ante-natal classes together are mentioned most frequently.

We have also discovered during this time that the biggest barrier to uptake and retention of real nappy use is the
lack of face-to-face buying opportunities and good support and advice on product choice and usage
practicalities.

For that reason all the options we are offering will provide people interested in using real nappies with the
opportunity to buy from an experienced real nappy user. Furthermore this will create opportunities for local
people to set up their own business as real nappy retail agents.

But we want RNfL to have a wider re-use and waste prevention impact than just nappies. Behavioural change is
notoriously difficult but this is a good time for new initiatives. You will have noticed the fashion for „make do and
mend‟ and vintage: RNfL sees this current interest in frugality as an opportunity to secure lasting behavioural
change.

RNfL is a trusted source of impartial and useful information. Our intention is to use this track record to expand
the range of information about waste and re-use that we pass on to families and parents. As their children grow,
parents need to know how they can easily pass on clothes, furniture and equipment, which they no longer need.
RNfL will work with LRN and partners such as the NHS, children‟s centres, nurseries, the NCT and Recycle for
London to provide the information that will help parents find out how/where to pass on items that can be re-used.
A key advantage here will be the London Reuse Network, which LCRN is about to launch. This will provide a pan
London infrastructure for reuse, covering items such as furniture and textiles. We will also raise awareness of
other relevant waste prevention campaigns such as Love Food, Hate Waste. And we will be developing events
that bring people together – partly as a social support function but also as a way in which market leaders of re-
use behaviour can influence others.

4         Proposal

We plan to offer four options that boroughs can choose between, depending on their priorities and the nature of
the real nappy market in their local area.

Option 1: Use of Logo on publicity materials - £200

If there is a low uptake of washable nappies in your borough and you are sceptical about the cost benefit of
investing in RNfL this is the place for you to start. Alternatively, if you have your own scheme that you wish to
publicise more widely this may be for you.

The option buys you permission to display the RNfL logo on your borough web site, leaflets, flyers and
advertising. You will be showing your residents that you support the use of washable nappies and be giving them

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a nudge to find out more. The logo will link to the RNfL web site where interested residents will find a wealth of
expert advice on buying and using real nappies and potty training.

The RNfL web site will display your logo and send your residents to the page on your website advising them
where to buy real nappies locally – and perhaps advising them of special real nappy deals that may be available
to them e.g. you may decide to run a free or „paid for‟ nappy trial in partnership with a nappy business.
Importantly, if your resident receives RNfL publicity at their ante-natal class in another borough and visits the
RNfL web site they will see your logo and be directed to the nappy page of your web site.

This option gives you the opportunity to gauge interest amongst your residents and their receptiveness to the
brand via hits to your web page at minimal cost. We will track traffic from your web site and send you monthly
Google Analytics reports.

Option 2: Drive your residents to local real nappy sales events - £1,500 plus leaflets @ £200 per
1,000 or postcards @ £150 per 1,000

This is for boroughs with low uptake of real nappies but a desire to make fast progress, taking advantage of the
current enthusiasm for re-use. Your borough will have a page on the RNfL web site. We will keep this page
updated and work to ensure sales events are happening in your borough (at least one every 6 weeks) where
residents can gain free information. They will also be encouraged to register for a discount code. The benefit to
the resident is that they will be able to use the discount code at local sales events. RNfL will have an email
address to remind the resident to buy real nappies and communicate with them further (see below).

We will also list local NCT Nearly New Sales and similar local re-use sales/events. This package also comes with
data feedback so you can calculate resident participation and tonnages diverted from landfill/incineration.
Residents will find out about the RNfL web site and telephone helpline via leaflets/postcards given out by
midwives and health visitors. We anticipate that traffic to web pages will be similar to current traffic to the
borough pages of the RNfL web site of approximately 140 visits per month.

Option 3: Cashback - £1,500 plus leaflets @ £200 per 1,000 or postcards @ £150 per 1,000

Boroughs choosing this option are likely to already be offering a nappy cashback scheme, where the resident
buys nappies and then gets a „cashback‟ against the initial outlay. The additional marketing and branding of
RNfL, provided in this option, will increase uptake.

Your borough will have a page on the RNfL web site. We will keep this page updated and work to ensure sales
events are happening in your borough. In addition this web page will detail how to apply for the cashback. This
scheme is likely to work well where you have high street retailers selling real nappies. Retailers generally find it
difficult to accept real nappy vouchers if there isn‟t a borough support scheme to administer the cashback in
place.

Please note that RNFL will not administer the cash back. The benefit of the cashback is that you will collect data
from this valuable market that you can then use for direct marketing. You will also be able to calculate tonnages
avoided, see exactly what nappies the resident purchased and carry out analysis and monitoring to calculate
retention. You may buy RNfL leaflets and post cards or you may produce your own flyers that specifically
publicise the cashback element. An advantage of cashback is retention tends to be higher, possibly due to the
upfront investment.

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Option 4: Voucher - £2,000 including 3,000 leaflets. Additional costs will be £9 processing fee
for all vouchers redeemed plus the cost of vouchers (£30-£54.15). You may also choose to have
vouchers sent out by RNfL at a cost of £3 per voucher sent.

This scheme is for boroughs that have been promoting real nappies for some time or where there has been high
uptake in a neighbouring borough creating unmet demand. The voucher works to influence people who wouldn‟t
normally consider real nappies and helps them with the initial upfront cost. It especially attracts people on lower
incomes. We will also be working with local credit unions to provide further assistance for those on low incomes
for whom the upfront investment is a barrier. This scheme also requires considerably less officer time than the
cashback.

Your borough will have a page on the RNfL web site. We will keep this page updated and work to ensure sales
events are happening in your borough – at least every 6 weeks. Your residents will be able to apply for
vouchers on-line or via application forms on leaflets. If an officer is available it may be possible to issue
vouchers at these events.

Your borough will enjoy full membership of the RNfL scheme and participate in the steering group. You will have
the option to attend a quarterly information exchange, benefiting from sharing data, experience and best practice.
You will also be involved in helping RNfL develop its strategy, reflecting your level of investment and commitment
to the scheme.

There are additional costs associated with this scheme: we estimate that you will need to commit 7 hours officer
time per month sending out vouchers and distributing leaflets.

Additional service for proposals 2, 3 and 4 – keeping in touch with residents. £60 per month

As an additional service, RNfL will keep in touch with your residents who sign up for the discount code or
voucher), via direct email. The e-mail will remind them to buy their nappies. After their purchase further e-mails
will offer tips on washing nappies, tell them about local events where they can buy more nappies and meet other
residents who use them. After 18 months e-mails will get them to start thinking about potty training. We will also
send out messages about events your borough may be running, such as composting workshops, Green Fairs,
food growing, Give and Take events, Nearly New sales etc.

Additional services for all proposals 1, 2, 3 and 4 – bringing people together. FREE

LCRN is planning a lot more that will run alongside all of the proposals outlined above: -

          A vital part of ensuring retention of real nappy use is providing opportunities for parents to meet others
          who use them. RNfL will facilitate this via a web-based „meet-up‟ group. This will allow real nappy
          users to initiate events locally so they can meet with other local users. As a London-wide „interest‟
          group it will allow them to see what people are doing in other boroughs, and motivate them to do similar
          things.

          We will provide real nappy training events for officers, local sellers and real nappy network volunteers –
          approximately 4 per year to meet and exchange information and ideas.

          We will provide support for boroughs that want to encourage nurseries to start using a real nappy
          service. We know from experience that when a child starts nursery and the main carer returns to work, it
          is very likely that use of real nappies will end. This is one of reasons why it‟s very important to get

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more nurseries using real nappies. This support will consist of having an updated template letter on the
             benefits of nurseries using real nappies and the potential cost savings.

             Parent pressure is usually important to make nurseries switch to real nappies. We will raise awareness
             among parents and real nappy users and provide interested parents with the same type of letters.

             We are happy to help any borough interested in working closely with a laundry service. One of the
             barriers to using real nappies is a reluctance to wash nappies and, for those who live in small flats,
             having nowhere to dry them for much of the year. This is why we want to encourage more people to
             start out with a laundry service for the first 3-6 months.

             Real Nappy Week will be 16 -22 May 2010. We will work in partnership with Go Real on the national
             campaign but will also tailor it for a London audience.

5            Links with Go Real

We will be working closely with Go Real, jointly providing the following services:

                 Scheme                                  Benefit                                 Costs
Go Real membership                         Photo library, resources, artwork,     £250-£750 depending on birth rate.
                                           research and statistics                Please see PDF attached
Trial kits                                 The Go Real trial kit scheme and       Please see Go Real PDF attached
                                           supportive services provides an
                                           ongoing resource for Local
                                           Authorities which helps to achieve
                                           consistent waste diversion and a
                                           proven conversion rate
Nappy loan                                 Go Real‟s „Nappies for All‟ scheme     Please see Go Real PDF attached
                                           which allows parents to spread cost
                                           of nappies by borrowing up to £200
                                           and paying back at an interest free
                                           £5 per week

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5          Cost benefit analysis

The table below shows the costs and likely savings that you can expect to achieve under each proposal.

Potential total waste reduction savings– by annual birth rate*

Annual Birth Rate             Based on achieving 3%                    Based on achieving 5%           Based on achieving 10%
See appendix for birth        conversion                               conversion                      conversion
rate in your borough                                                  Cost of waste disposal per tonne

                              @£55        @£85           @£107         @£55         @£85          @£107     @£55      @£85      @£107

250                           £360        £558           £702          £601         £928          £1,168    £1,202    £1,857    £2,338

1,000                         £1,442      £2,229         £2,805        £2,403       £3,714        £4,676    £4,807    £7,429    £9,352

2,500                         £3,605      £5,572         £7,014        £6,009       £9286         £11,690   £12,018   £18,572   £23,380

5,000                         £7,205      £11,135        £14.017       £12.017      £18,573       £23,380   £24,035   £37,146   £46,760

* baby wearing disposable nappies for two and a half years creating 874 kg (Environment Agency)

Appendices

Appendix 1 – Live birth rates in London boroughs 2009

Appendix 2 – Go Real brochure

For a list of all maternity units and the number of births at each unit please visit this link:

http://www.birthchoiceuk.com/BirthChoiceUKFrame.htm?http://www.birthchoiceuk.co
m/MaternityUnits.htm

Hilary Vick                                                     Page 6 of 6