Energy Alton set out to show that there is stuff we can ALL do to contribute to solving the massive problem of plastic waste at a drop-in event on 21st April at Alton Community Centre. The popular event was attended by 150 people, including families and young people, and our MP Damian Hinds. There was a lot of discussion with visitors at the various stalls.
One of the stalls focused on women’s and baby products. Our stall included reusable and biodegradable nappies and feminine hygiene products. With the nappies, many people were interested to see how cloth nappies have changed over the years and were surprised to hear it’s a lot easier now as there is no need for soaking in big buckets anymore! Mums with new babies who 
were interested in switching to cloth felt a bit bewildered by all the choice that is now available so it was good to be able to chat to them and explain some of their options and where they could go online to find more information to help them choose which nappy system was right for them (www.thenappylady.co.uk is an amazing resource). We had a lot of discussion about the eco-friendly disposable nappies. We had a couple of brands on display (Beaming Baby and Naty) which claimed to be biodegradable, however on closer inspection, one nappy still contained plastic and one said it was only 65% biodegradable. Obviously this is better for the environment than a conventional disposable, but we did think it misleading to have biodegradable in big writing on the packaging when actually that was not entirely the case.
With the feminine hygiene alternatives, lots of ladies were interested in the Mooncup and thought it looked like a great idea, especially as it can last up to 10 years so is very economical. They were also impressed with how soft and comfortable the reusable pads looked. One talking point was the sea sponges we had bought along to show – natural pieces of sea sponge harvested from the sea intended to be used like a tampon. There was some concern about removal of them and apparently no-one had been brave enough to try them yet!
Our volunteer stallholders have prepared some useful information on reusable feminine hygiene products – see here Reusable feminine hygiene information and on cloth nappies which can be found here – Cloth nappy information
Do let us know how you get on with using these products and generally reducing plastic waste, so that we can learn from each other. Use our contact form on this website, or our Facebook page.