Cloth Nappy Council Rebates

February 18, 2023

Disposable waste is a huge issue for any council’s waste management program & even bigger issue for their budget - as waste management takes up one of the larger portions of their yearly budget.

The issue:

Disposable nappies and absorbent hygiene products are the second largest contributor to household garbage waste, with audits showing that by weight, these products make up 10% of the material collected through the red-lidded general waste bin. Second to food waste which makes up 43% of what gets thrown out.

Millions of nappies end up in Australian landfill every single day. This puts pressure on waste management solutions & even bigger pressure on keeping items that can take 100’s of years to breakdown - out of landfill.

A solution:

Many councils run programs and initiatives to encourage local households to make the switch to products that are reusable and sustainable - not only does this save the household money & gives incentives back to them - it also saves the council money, reduces waste & alleviates many of the issues that come with sorting & disposing of one-time-use items to landfill.

What’s included in the rebate?

reusable nappies includes cloth nappies
swim nappies
reusable inserts & inner liners for nappies,
reusable wipes
and wet bags

In addition - many councils also offer additional rebates for the following:

reusable sanitary products includes leak proof underwear
reusable sanitary pads
sanitary cups
and wet bags

What’s not included in the rebate?

These rebates do not include transport costs (such as shipping costs) , product hire, and single use items.

Something to be aware of:

Funding is limited so be sure to check your council’s website to see if the initiative is still open & to see how close the budget is to exhaustion - if not already exhausted. Councils will keep their websites updated with this info, so do your research!

Which councils offer cloth nappy & accessory rebates?

I have searched for all councils running a rebate & collated the following council’s programs, rebate details & if the initiative is still running or not below - these are up to date as of 18th February 2023.

Note - If I have missed any councils - please get in touch & I will add them to the list!

NSW

Sutherland Shire https://cms.ssc.nsw.gov.au/Residents/Waste-and-Recycling/Reusable-Nappy-Rebate

Rebate % of what you paid	50%
Max rebate / what you get back	$50
Details	Per household
Application eligibility	Within 3 months of purchase / receipt

City of Wagga Wagga

https://wagga.nsw.gov.au/community/programs-and-initiatives/reusable-products-rebate

Rebate % of what you spent	50%
Max rebate / what you get back	$100
Details	PER CHILD
Apply eligibility	Purchases from September 2022

City of Parramatta

https://www.cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au/nappy-and-sanitary-rebate

Rebate % of what you spent	50%
Max rebate / what you get back	$150
Details	Per household
Apply eligibility	Trial & rebate now closed

City of Blacktown

https://www.blacktown.nsw.gov.au/Services/Waste/Supporting-Sustainable-Solutions#section-3

Rebate % of what you spent	50%
Max rebate / what you get back	$200
Details	Per household
Apply eligibility	Within 3 months of purchase / receipt Not able to combine multiple purchases

City of Penrith

https://www.penrithcity.nsw.gov.au/waste-environment/waste/supporting-sustainable-choices-scheme

Rebate % of what you spent	50%
Max rebate / what you get back	$100
Details	Per household
Apply eligibility	Allocation exhausted / now closed

City of Albury

https://halvewaste.com.au/cloth-nappies-vs-disposable-nappies/

Rebate % of what you spent	50%
Max rebate / what you get back	$100
Details	Per household
Apply eligibility	From July 2021

Shire of federation and greater Hume

https://halvewaste.com.au/cloth-nappies-vs-disposable-nappies/

Rebate % of what you spent	50%
Max rebate / what you get back	$100
Details	Per household
Apply eligibility	From July 2021

QLD

Livingstone Shire council

https://getinvolved.livingstone.qld.gov.au/cloth-nappies-and-reusable-sanitary-products-win-100-00-per-month?tool=news_feed

Rebate % of what you spent	Monthly Draw
Max rebate / what you get back	$100 if you win
Details	Per household
Apply eligibility	From July 2020

VIC

Cardinia Shire Council

https://www.cardinia.vic.gov.au/info/20002/rubbish_and_recycling/147/waste_rebates_and_discounts#section-1-key-points

Rebate % of what you spent	50%
Max rebate / what you get back	$150
Details	Per household
Apply eligibility	Apply within 60 days of purchase/receipt

City of Casey

https://www.casey.vic.gov.au/apply-cloth-nappy-reusable-sanitary-product-rebate

Rebate % of what you spent	50%
Max rebate / what you get back	$100
Details	Per household
Apply eligibility	Apply within 6 months of purchase/receipt

Mornington Peninsula Shire

https://www.mornpen.vic.gov.au/Online-Forms-and-Services/Cloth-nappy-and-plastic-free-period-products-rebate

Rebate % of what you spent	50%
Max rebate / what you get back	$100
Details	Per household
Apply eligibility	Apply within 3 months of purchase/receipt

City of Whittlesey

https://www.whittlesea.vic.gov.au/about-us/news-publications/latest-news/helping-residents-make-the-switch-to-reusables/

Rebate % of what you spent	50%
Max rebate / what you get back	$100
Details	Per household
Apply eligibility	Apply within 60 days of purchase/receipt

Wyndham City Council

https://www.wyndham.vic.gov.au/cloth-nappy-and-reusable-sanitary-product-rebate

Rebate % of what you spent	50%
Max rebate / what you get back	$100
Details	Per household
Apply eligibility	Purchases from April 2022

City of Ballarat

https://www.ballarat.vic.gov.au/reusable-rebate

Rebate % of what you spent	50%
Max rebate / what you get back	$100
Details	Per household
Apply eligibility	Apply within 3 months of purchase/receipt

Shire of Indigo & Towong

https://halvewaste.com.au/cloth-nappies-vs-disposable-nappies/

Rebate % of what you spent	50%
Max rebate / what you get back	$100
Details	Per household
Apply eligibility	Purchases from July 2021

City of Wodonga

https://halvewaste.com.au/cloth-nappies-vs-disposable-nappies/

Rebate % of what you spent	50%
Max rebate / what you get back	$100
Details	Per household
Apply eligibility	Purchases from July 2021

Town of East Fremantle

https://www.eastfremantle.wa.gov.au/operations/waste-and-recycling/cloth-nappy-rebate.aspx

Rebate % of what you spent	50%
Max rebate / what you get back	$100
Details	Per household
Apply eligibility	Attend cloth nappy workshop within 6 months of application - proof of attendance needed

City of Fremantle

https://www.fremantle.wa.gov.au/modern-cloth-nappy-rebate

Rebate % of what you spent	50%
Max rebate / what you get back	$150
Details	Per household
Apply eligibility	Attend cloth nappy workshop within 6 months of application - proof of attendance needed

City of Melville

https://www.melvillecity.com.au/waste-and-environment/environmental-subsidies-and-rebates/reusable-product-rebates

Rebate % of what you spent	50%
Max rebate / what you get back	$100
Details	Per household
Apply eligibility	Attend cloth nappy workshop within 6 months of application - proof of attendance needed

City of Cockburn

https://www.cockburn.wa.gov.au/City-and-Council/Events-and-News/Events-and-Workshops/Environment/Modern-Cloth-Nappy-Workshop-September

Rebate % of what you spent	50%
Max rebate / what you get back	$100
Details	Per household
Apply eligibility	Purchases from January 2022

City of Bassendean

https://www.bassendean.wa.gov.au/environment-waste/environment-sustainability/sustainability-programs.aspx

Rebate % of what you spent	50%
Max rebate / what you get back	$100
Details	Per household
Apply eligibility	Purchases from December 2021

City of Bayswater

https://www.bayswater.wa.gov.au/environment-and-sustainability/waste,-rubbish-and-recycling/cloth-nappy-rebate

Rebate % of what you spent	50%
Max rebate / what you get back	$100
Details	Per household
Apply eligibility	Attend cloth nappy workshop BEFORE applying

City of Holdfast Bay

https://www.holdfast.sa.gov.au/services/green-living

Rebate % of what you spent	50%
Max rebate / what you get back	$50
Details	Per household
Apply eligibility	Purchases from July 2022

Litchfield council

https://www.litchfield.nt.gov.au/community/community-grants/going-green-rebate

Rebate % of what you spent	50%
Max rebate / what you get back	$150
Details	Per household
Apply eligibility	Allocation exhausted

TAS

City of Hobart

https://www.hobartcity.com.au/Residents/Recycling-and-rubbish/Cloth-Nappy-and-Reusable-Sanitary-Product-Rebate#:~:text=What%20can%20I%20claim%3F,cloth%20pads%20and%20period%20underpants

Rebate % of what you spent	50%
Max rebate / what you get back	$50
Details	Per household
Apply eligibility	Purchases from September 2021

What if your council doesn’t offer reusable rebates?

While councils have been slow to move with these types of initiatives, more and more have been picking these programs up. Here’s what you can do to help move things along with your local council

Write to your council - state the facts about disposable waste & compare to the success of other councils that have run these rebates (how much they saved / kept out of landfill)
Start a local Facebook group so you can all be on board with each other and have power in numbers when approaching your council
Create a petition
Keep getting back in touch with your local council to see how the consideration process is going

Back to blog