A NEW drive is under way to persuade more parents to use "real" nappies - and do their bit to cut the mountain of disposables thrown away every week in Wyre Forest.

Parents are being urged to try out alternatives as part of the "Get Sorted!" initiative under way in the district and backed by the Shuttle/Times and News.

The district council has teamed up with a company which specialises in real nappies to help spread the word.

Rebecca Robinson, the council's waste minimisation officer, said: "People often don't want to try real nappies as they think they will have piles of towelling squares, dangerous pins, smelly buckets and pots of boiling nappies on the stove.

"This is no longer the case - real nappies are shaped to fit your baby, close with Velcro poppers or ties and are covered with waterproof pants to prevent leakage. They can be used with biodegradable liners that flush down the toilet and can be washed on a 60 degree cycle and then tumble dried."

Some 63 million disposable nappies are thrown away in the UK every week, making up four per cent of the rubbish that goes to landfill sites. The mountains of nappies will take hundreds of years to fully decompose, say experts.

Kerrie Clegg, Worcestershire agent for real nappy company Lollipop, will be available to speak to individuals or groups about the pros and cons of real nappies and can be contacted on 01584 819316.

The promotion of real nappies is part of the district council's on-going drive to get Wyre Forest families to think about the best ways to get rid of their rubbish.

It comes as the district gears up for the introduction of a new kerbside recycling initiative, which starts from September.

By April next year some 84 per cent of district homes will have newspaper, cardboard, plastic, glass, cans and tins collected weekly and their wheelie bins emptied fortnightly in a bid to dramatically improve the recycling rate.