Cotton bottoms

Disposable nappies now form an estimated 4 per cent of all household waste in the UK, and 50 per cent of the waste of a household with one baby. Although it is illegal to dispose of untreated sewage in landfill, this is what disposables in effect do, releasing viruses and bacteria into the environment. The nappies also emit methane gas - a contributor to the greenhouse effect - and take up to 500 years to decompose completely.

This threat to the environment has now led to a number of hospitals and nurseries changing back to cotton nappies. Tammy Clark, principal of Play Plus Kindergarten in Hemel Hempstead, switched over to terries a year ago. 'The local refuse collectors refused to take the soiled disposable nappies, so every week the staff were taking large bin-loads to the council dump,' she explains. 'We could see what a mountain of nappies one nursery produced, so we decided to take action. We did have a considerable initial outlay, buying 60 cotton nappies to start with - these are the shaped ones with special Velcro pants which are easier to use. One or two parents were resistant to the idea at first, but that soon stopped.'