Cathy Bacon from Castletownbere, Co Cork, started using combination washable/flushable nappies when she realised the cost of disposing of the regular type.

The mother of two brought her first load of conventional disposable nappies to the newly opened Castletownbere Waste Transfer Station, weighed the bag of nappies, and received a bill for 15 for the nappies alone. She started using Weenies, a washable nappy with a flushable pad insert, and the following week she had no nappies to include in her domestic waste going to landfill, and her bill was just €1.

Dublin company, Ecoware started importing Weenies last year from Australia. The pads are made from tree-farmed compostable wood pulp. They can also be flushed down the toilet. They are inserted into washable outer pants which should only need to be washed after three or four uses, although that obviously depends on individual usage.

Because the pads are much smaller, they are easier to compost in a small composter, and as such, could represent a better option than full-size compostable nappies for people with small gardens.

Pros:

Less washing than regular cloth nappies

Wood-pulp inserts can be flushed down the toilet or composted in a regular composting bin

Pads are made without bleach

Nothing is left for disposal

Cons:

This system works out more expensive than regular disposables, at 14 for a box of 40 pads plus 10 for each outer nappy (estimate four to six per baby) Ecoware, tel: 086 851 8001, www.ecoware.ie