Disposable Nappies

gday mark.
we all know nappies are a messy thing but put them in a bag and wait till you find a bin and dump(not aimed at you)
if they did put a nappy tax do you really think 1 cent of it would go to conservation/awareness more like pollys would get another pay rise.got over no fraser.
get on with life(more weekend fun)

G'day Mark,
Recently returned from a trip to the warmer climates and was also disgusted to see disposable nappies discarded in lots of places. Even saw 2 that had been thrown over a waterfall. Don't know what the solution is. Ban them but then I was chauvnistic enough that I didn't wash them either. Educate the users to dispose of properly but the little buggers can't read or write. Reinvent them so that they dissolve when urine is added to them. (maybe not a good idea) Keep the kids in a bucket until they are toilet trained (only joking) but they and toilet paper really mar the pristine areas of the bush. It's literally enough to give you the shaits.I don't like the material ones either as it only encourages the cotton growers to grow more cotton and continue to murder our river system,. I've had my whinge so cyaAlpaca

hey who made you finance minister
do taxes on other things work like fishing and still to be seen boating licenses there are still people out there who would avoid it.
While i agree the sight is very ugly and they do break down very slowly what would a tax do something like the gst putting the average house up by 12% .
I already pay too much!
i use one in disposable and the other in cotton washable (too small a bum)
Dont give the government ideas
1999 NISSAN NAVARA DUALCAB
DIESEL 3.2 & SPRINGY CARLTON TOY

Yep it's the old story - tax the majority because of a few.

Maybe we should close down all 4wd tracks or put a tax on them because I saw some tracks that had been chopped up by a few 4wders. The money raised could be used to educate all 4wders.

Come on give us a break the nappies are bloody expensive as it is. I have some very green friends and they don't even consider cloth nappies while camping.

I'm not sure of the odds but there's an idiot in everycrowd and you unfortunately can't legislate againstbleeps. Fine them maybe, but unfortunately the odds are against you on eleminating them. Although shotguns should be compulsary.

The people who throw disposable nappies away in the bush will throw everything else away in the bush as well. The problem is the people, not the nappies.... I believe that the solution is better education - plus everyone pitching in to help clean up the mess.

My suggestions?
1) Join Tread Lightly!
- they are one of the few organisations who are actually doing something constructive to develop awareness of environmental issues and encourage responsible recreation practices. They can only do this if you and I support them financially.

2) Set an example for others, and take every opportunity (such as this!) to spread the message.

3) Be part of the solution. It isn't enough to just take your own rubbish out anymore - take some of someone else's as well! This is the only way the mess is going to get cleaned up in the really remote places...

Cheers,
Pete

Mark, I consider there is an even bigger problem than the unsightliness and that is one of health. Several years ago went across the Gulf road and at every possible camp spot there they were. One place on the Robinson r. a school of fish were busily attacking one, it must have contained some goodies! The interesting thing is though we saw very few other travellers, none with kids of nappy age, they mostly all looked recently disposed. Folk we mentioned this to were equally disgusted and a theory as to the source wasnt long in being considered.
Some time after this was talking to a remote area nurse who spent a lot of time working in the NT and WA. Her opinion was that many local water holes had become so polluted as to be dangerous, they (disposables) were the cause of most gastric and other skin infections and most sinisterly when brought up with the relevant authorities they had a "so what" attitude.
This was all some years ago,but it seems not much has changed
cheers haze

One of our group had a 9 month old baby on a 2 week trip to the Pilbara (Carawine Gorge - Rudal R NP) a few years ago. When we were leaving a camp site, the fire was stoked up and all the rubbish (cans, paper and NAPPIES etc etc) was put in the fire and burnt. Anything that was left (usually just cans) was put in a bag and taken with us.
Now this method is not always viable (fire bans or no wood) but is one easy solution - and the amount left to carry is 'clean'.
There are special resealable plastic bags available ? (I will check up on this!) that you put human waste into - the bags have chemicals inside which disolve the waste and make it harmless. You still have to take the bag with you, but it is harmless and sealed.
Getting people to 'Do the right thing' is sometimes difficult - on the CSR there are compost drop dunnies, but do you think people comply with the signs and keep the toilet lid closed, Oh no, too much info!
"you lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink"Colin - Subaru Forester
- size isn't everything ! -

Hi Mark,

Well travelling with our 2 year old probably qualifies me to comment. Firstly, anyone who leaves nappies behind will leave anything behind...face it, they just aren't advocates of the keep Aust. beautiful motto.

Our method is this...every used nappies goes into a nappy sak (purpose made fragrant plastic bag) which in my experience are very effective at containing bad odours. Sometimes, to be extra safe we use two saks (I'll leave that for you guys to figure out). Nappies then go in with our general rubbish in a strong draw-string type garbage bag. Honestly, I can't say that bad odours from nappies have caused us any problems to date. On our last trip we had 3 kids in nappies in our group and not a single problem with nappies.

Also, just to bring some of you people that are obviously out of date with developments in disposable nappies, these days most disposable nappies (well, the good brands at least) no longer contain plastics and other non-biodegradable fabrics. Instead they use moisture absorbing materials (same principle to silicone gels) and biodegradable fabrics. These type of nappies will break down quicker than most of the packaging we buy our food and hygiene items in.

I don't condone littering in any sense and that includes smokers who think its their God given right to dispose of their cigarette butts wherever and whenever they like. But a tax on nappies because a few careless, ignorant people don't dispose of them properly. GET REAL!!! Why should all parents be penalised because of a few ignoramisous? Should we also tax those that leave empty beer cans and bottles, toilet paper, old tyres and general rubbish behind (I see far more of this type of rubbish than I've ever seen nappies)? Believe me, I'd happily hand out fines to these people if I could but would the rest of us be happy to pay an extra tax to educate these fools??? And lets face it, ignorance may have been a excuse for littering 30 years ago, but these days we are a far better informed and educated society. Everyone knows littering is wrong, but those who persist in this behaviour do so because they just don't give a rats a**e. No amount of money spent on education programmes is going to change that sort of attitude.

:o) Melissa

Well all It looks really like the main probelm is that it hasn't become sufficiently un exceptable to litter, while makeing the fines for littering more robust (hay it's only $200 or so to toss a butt out the window of a car in NSW) and enforcing the laws would help, socially it has to become un acceptable.

would it give people a warm & fuzzy glow to put a tax on nappies, just like plastic bags that is being proposed?
I think not!
lets make littering just like vandalisim, a criminal offence maybe? $10,000 fine for a cig. butt out the window perhaps(after last summers bush fires this might be a good idea) and people would start to get the message. unfortunalty the goverment can't legislate against stupidity!

The probelm unfortunatly is not the product it's the end users!
As melissa has said the new nappies are far more bio-degradeable, but in our dry outback enviroment composting can take a long time. Even burning rubish is some places can cause it's own problems as some have pointed out. if you have room to carry the stuff into an area you sure as well will have space to carry it back out!

happy travelling everyone