16 August 2019
LGOIMA No. 8140005264
(Please quote this in any correspondence)
James Lochead-Macmillan
Sent by email:
[FYI request #10795 email]
Dear James
Local Government Official Information And Meetings Act 1987
Early childhood education centres and reusable nappies
I refer to your email dated 24 July 2019 in which you requested information about early
childhood education centres and the possible use of reusable nappies.
The specific details of your request and our response is below:
1. Please provide a copy of the audit template used when ECE centres request to
use re-usable nappies?
Auckland Council and the Nappy Lady have been collaborating with Auckland Early
Childhood Centres (ECCs) since October 2012, to encourage them to try using cloth
nappies rather than disposables and reduce their operating and waste disposal costs.
There is no requirement for centres to make a request to Auckland Council to use cloth
nappies (outside of the trial process) as they are controlled by the Ministry of Education
and Ministry of Health.
Centres are required by the Ministry of Education to have comprehensive health and
safety policies already in place and if their existing policy doesn’t cover reusable
nappies, they can modify it at any time.
Centres are required by the Ministry of Health to have their own health and safety
guidelines for changing procedures (equipment and personal protective equipment) and
to have these displayed in changing areas.
There is no audit template used by council for the trial. When council is contacted by a
centre we provide them with the cloth nappy trial proposal document (refer
Attachment
1) and also highlight the requirement for hot washing facilities to reach 60 degrees
Celsius, in order to meet Ministry of Health requirements.
Auckland Council staff wil also visit the centre before the trial starts to review their
changing and washing facilities to check they have suitable equipment in place to deal
with soiled nappies during and after the changing process.
Centre staff are also made aware of the requirement to use an anti-bacterial and anti-
fungal additive (Dettol or Canesten) as well as sensitive laundry detergent, in both
written and verbal form before the trial starts.
2. Al information regarding potential cross contamination between children,
regarding bacteria, pathogens and viruses and how these are checked?
Please refer to
Attachment 2 which is a copy of key pages from the support booklet
provided to all centres participating in the nappy trial.
These pages outline the actions taken to prevent potential cross-contamination.
3. A copy of the process centres are to follow, including equipment, external texting
and Personal Protective Equipment requirements?
Early childhood centres are required by the Ministry of Health to have their own health and
safety guidelines for changing procedures and these must be displayed in changing areas.
There is no difference in the requirement whether using reusable or disposable nappies.
Please refer to
Attachment 3 which is an extract from the Environmental Health Protection
Manual – Licensing Criteria HS3.
Attachments 4 and 5 are examples of health and safety guidelines.
Modern cloth nappies do not require harsh chemicals to clean them, as the technology of
modern washing machines and cleaning products eliminates the need for soaking and
bleaching.
Centres are provided with washing procedures to follow during a nappy trial (refer
Attachment 6), which state the temperature requirement for a hot wash and the use of anti-
bacterial and anti-fungal additives and sensitive laundry powder.
If you feel that we have not responded adequately to your request, you have the right to
seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this decision. Information about how
to make a complaint is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802
602.
If you have any further queries, please contact me on (09) 301 0101 quoting LGOIMA No.
8140005264.
Yours sincerely
Joanne Kearney
Privacy & LGOIMA Business Partner
Democracy Services
8140005264
The decision to grant your request in full was made by Andrew Ovenden, General Manager,
Waste Solutions.
