Countdown to start selling compostable and reusable nappies in bid to reduce landfill waste

October 11, 2019
A mother with her son chooses nappies in a supermarket.

Parents and caregivers can now choose from a range of reusable, cloth and compostable nappies at Countdown stores, as another step is taken towards going green.

With around 145,000 Kiwi babies and toddlers getting their nappies changed an estimated 6000 times in their first two-and-a-half years, nappies make up a significant amount of New Zealand’s domestic waste, the supermarket chain says.

Reusable cloth nappies will be in Countdown stores across the country and compostable nappies in select Auckland stores. 

The compostable nappies can be returned to a nappy company's drop off bins for turning into compost at their own composting facility.

Countdown's sustainability head Kiri Hannifin says swapping out a disposable nappy for a reusable alternative, even just a few times a week, can have a huge impact on the amount of waste a household generates. 

Ms Hannifin says Countdown is focused on reducing the amount of waste the company sends to landfill as part of its carbon emission reduction efforts, particularly with its new target to be 60 per cent below its 2015 levels by 2030. 

"It makes sense that we also give our customers options to do the same,” she says.

The New Zealand distributor of one of the brands of reusable cloth nappies, Aaron Wainhouse, says Countdown’s decision to stock reusable nappies is a win-win for customer wallets and the environment.

He says disposable nappies end up costing about $4000 per child, and if every parent in New Zealand used one reusable nappy on their baby a day we could prevent one million nappies from going to landfill per week.

The supermarket's move to include eco-friendly nappies on its shelves comes after the Government has phased out single-use plastic shopping bags in New Zealand.

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