Early years settings and families invited to take part in toilet training research
by Jess Gibson
Researchers at University College London (UCL) are urging early years settings, schools, and families to take part in a project focused on toilet training.
The Big Toilet Project – by researchers, designers and engineers from the UCL Plastic Waste Innovation Hub – is focusing on children’s toilet training and the environmental impact of nappy disposal.
It aims to identify why, in many countries, children’s average toilet training age has increased, leading to 300,000 disposable nappies being sent to landfill globally. In the UK, for example, the toilet training age has increased by 32% between the 1950s and 2000s, leading to many schools and early years settings having an increased number of children wearing nappies for longer.
The first part of the project invites families currently toilet training to respond to the Big Toilet Project and share their experiences. The second part invites these families to voluntarily complete a toilet training diary over the course of a month.
The data gathered from families and settings will be combined with a materials systems analysis to explore ways to support families and children, and cut waste. Initial results from the project are expected this summer.
Dr Ayşe Lisa Allison, a behavioural scientist from UCL Plastic Waste Innovation Hub and the UCL Centre for Behaviour Change, said: “One of the reasons we are gathering information on toilet training is to understand what kinds of behaviour change might help reduce nappy waste. 
“We all have a role in shaping a caregiving culture and environment that enables less wasteful practices, whether that’s improving acceptance of and access to reusable and recyclable products, or reducing over-reliance on nappies by empowering caregivers with the confidence, time, and resources to support toilet training. If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a village to tackle nappy waste, too!”