Choosing nappies: washable vs disposable Disposable nappies

Disposable nappies are convenient but expensive

Disposable nappies are convenient but expensive, and many people have concerns about the number of nappies that end up in landfill sites.

Approximately eight billion nappies enter the waste stream every year in the UK, and most end up in landfill sites where parts of each nappy will take 200 years or more to decompose.

Disposable nappies: the pros

• Convenience: disposables are very convenient as you just throw them away after use. They're easy to buy, too – leading brands such as Huggies or Pampers can be picked up in any supermarket. They're slim and light, so you can easily carry several around with you when you're out and about, and they don't contribute to your washing.
• Absorbency: modern disposable nappies contain a highly absorbent material called polyacrylates. This is trapped inside the nappy layers and can absorb many times its own weight in liquid. When the polyacrylate gets wet it turns into a gel, holding in the wetness in the process.
• Energy use: although they have a significant adverse effect on landfill sites, disposable nappies don't use energy through repeated washing, and drying, like reusable nappies do.

Disposable nappies: the cons

• Cost: a major disadvantage of disposable nappies is the cost. During the first few months you can expect to be changing a nappy about six times a day, which is roughly 40 a week, or 160 per month. Even though the cost of each individual nappy is low, it mounts up over time. A 2006 study by the Women's Environmental Network found that using disposable nappies instead of reusables could cost families around £500 more per child.
• Waste: if you opt for disposable nappies – as most parents do – you'll be buying them for two-and-a-half to three years from the birth of your baby. During this time you'll throw away an average of 4,000-6,000 disposable nappies, which will contribute significantly to landfill.

Five ways to cut the cost of disposable nappies

We have five tips for ways to reduce the cost of disposable nappies when you're out shopping.

1. Buy the largest packs to reduce costs but be wary of bulk-buying too much in one size (especially newborn-size) as your baby may outgrow them sooner than you expect.

2. Take advantage of special offers if you don’t have a strong loyalty to one particular brand. Such is the competition between nappy manufacturers that offers are often available.

3. Supermarkets and shops selling a range of nappy brands often make it easier for you to compare prices between brands by displaying the price per nappy alongside the pack price.

4. You can save money by buying a cheaper brand of nappy for daytime use and a super-absorbent one for night-time when your baby will be wearing the nappy for longer.

5. Look out for free nappies and money-off nappy vouchers through baby clubs - we've got a full list of these in our guide to free baby stuff.