Clever ways to cut waste from nappies to games and desks
episodePreviously titled “Clever ways to cut waste from napies to games and desks” — renamed by the publisher on Sep 16, 2026
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What are the three environmental R’s that frame this episode?
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This is the documentary from the BBC World Service. People fixing the world. I'm Myra Newby and you're listening to People Fixing the World from the BBC World Service. A programme that's bursting with optimism. Every week we explore new ways to tackle old problems and I can't wait for you to hear what I've got lined up. It includes nappies, gaming and classroom desks. We'll be exploring a key principle of environmentalism. It's all about the fantastic R's. Reducing, reusing and recycling. Now, I never thought I'd say this, but babies are contributing to our global waste crisis. How? Well, mainly through disposable diapers or nappies. I mean, don't get me wrong. I love kids. I've got two of my own. But these tiny, adorable humans can go through almost 3,000 disposable diapers in just their first year.
year. Now, some people use washable nappies, which do need more time to clean and dry. But recent studies show that these reusable diapers save a quarter of the carbon footprint of disposable ones. One study even suggests that if 20 percent of parents in the European Union switched to reusable nappies, it would save more than a million tons of waste a year. Well, one city is taking this challenge seriously. In Brussels, the capital of Belgium, all 40 municipal nurseries are moving over to washable nappies. Our reporter, William Kramer, went to sniff around. Hello,
welcome to the nursery.
Thank
you.
I've come to Wangari Mathai Nursery, a so-called eco-crash in the north of Brussels.
So we're here, the babies are three months to 18 months. And then we have other sections where they're older from 18 months to 36 months
old. And looking through this door, I can see lots of really small babies crawling around and rolling around.
Maybe we can go in this one. Yep.
I watch three little babies sit and gaze at their nursery teacher, Brandy, as she
sings. HE SINGS IN FRENCH
Underneath their adorable little outfits, these children are all wearing reusable nappies. Like most of Brussels' municipal nurseries, Wangari Mathai has moved over to using washable nappies and wet flannels during the daytime. While I'm in the room, none of the babies issues a code brown. But the nursery's boss, Alyssa, takes me to their neatly organised changing area anyway. OK, so you've got a couple of nappies here, which are the reusable ones. And I'm just going to pick one up and have a look at it. So this is not something I had the guts to do when I was a parent. We talked about it, my wife and I talked about it, and then we decided not to do it. So this is a new thing for me to look at these reusable nappies.
And they are quite nice, actually. They have a kind of shiny canvas, like waterproof cover. And I'm just opening it up and there's a lovely, the inside of it is lovely and fleecy, actually. It's much nicer than a disposable nappy, I have to say.
And it's with microfibre, so it's really soft as well for the skin.
Yeah, lovely. And do you find the children, they like these or they're just used to them?
Well, I think they can't say yeah because they don't speak, but they're not bothered at all.
So
we can't see any difference from another nappy.
That's all well and good, but what about the staff? I speak to Brandy, the nursery teacher. She is only three weeks in this job, but hasn't been scared off by the toileting arrangements.
How is Brussels converting all municipal nurseries to reusable nappies?
I have worked in multiple creches and I have never used washable nappies. This is my first time using them and working in an eco-crash.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What are the three environmental R’s that frame this episode?
0:00–5:11
2
How is Brussels converting all municipal nurseries to reusable nappies?
5:11–11:28
3
What challenges do staff and parents face with washable nappies and how are they solved?
11:28–16:05
4
How does the Snappies service make reusable nappies practical for day‑care centres?
16:05–20:56
5
What is gamification and how are energy companies using it to reduce consumption?
20:56–25:45
6
Which real‑world studies show that game‑based energy saving actually works?
25:45–26:01