Gove hints at war on throwaway nappies

MICHAEL GOVE has suggested the Government could launch a crackdown on disposable nappies but was forced to deny that they could be banned.

The Environment Secretary had hinted that Philip Hammond, the Chancellor, could be poised to outlaw non-biodegradable nappies when he delivers the Budget on Oct 29.

Mr Gove had also suggested people would have to wean themselves off products like disposable ballpoint pens and disposable razors, which are difficult to recycle, as he addressed a fringe event at the Conservative party conference in Birmingham.

A ban on disposable nappies would be deeply controversial with parents, but Mr Gove subsequently clarified his remarks and said there would be no ban but he was “keen to look at how we tackle waste better”.

Mr Gove had said: “I mustn’t make too much news or commit to too much in advance of anything the Chancellor might say. But yes, the direction of travel is that we are going to have to identify, sector by sector, those areas where we need change our approach.

“I think that in my adult lifetime there will still be, as I mentioned, some form of combined waste to energy, there will still be landfill … But in the end it’s to try to reduce, as much as possible, the amount of waste that finds its way into any of those streams.”

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Environment Secretary said the Government was “looking at what we can do to encourage more sustainable alternatives but there won’t be a ban”.