Manufacturers must help destroy the 'nappy mountain'

Manufacturers must help foot the multi-million pound annual bill for disposing of the growing "nappy mountain", council leaders said have said.

Some eight million nappies thrown away daily in the UK end up in landfill sites, according to the Local Government Association.

The LGA wants manufacturers to pay the £67 million annual cost of burying used disposable nappies.

It says washable nappies are the solution to the waste disposal problem.

Paul Bettison, chairman of the LGA environment board, said: "It is high time that nappy manufacturers were made to take full responsibility for the life cycle of their products.

"It's totally unacceptable that the council tax payer is picking up the bill for landfilling disposable nappies."

Parents can save around £500 per baby by buying washable nappies instead of disposables, the LGA said.

Local councils each spend hundreds of thousands of pounds a year disposing of nappies in increasingly expensive landfill sites, the group said.

Nottinghamshire County Council spends an estimated £1 million a year while Bristol City Council pays an estimated £500,000 a year on nappy disposal.

A number of councils across the country are offering incentives to encourage parents to buy washable nappies.

These include cash refunds, loans and money to help with laundry bills.

The LGA represents nearly 500 local councils in England and Wales.

Its comments come during "real nappy week", which runs until Sunday.