Environmentalists are trying to fill a role with a difference - that of persuading parents across the district to ditch disposables and turn to towelling nappies.

The great debate is hotting up as Bradford Environmental Action Trust (BEAT) advertises for one of Britain's first development workers to spearhead projects to reduce nappy waste.

Disposable nappies from one baby make up half the rubbish of a normal family - that equates to more than four per cent of the district's waste. It costs Bradford Council more than £580,000 a year to get rid of them in landfill tips because they cannot be recycled.

One baby will use more than 6,500 nappies from birth to potty training, but it takes between 200 and 500 years for a single one to decompose in a tip, according to BEAT.

Now the environmentalists are using £33,000 funding they have been awarded from the landfill tax credit scheme to recruit an officer who would work with health staff, parents, carers and nurseries to get the message across that terry nappies are the best.

There would be efforts to re-educate health visitors and community midwives on the use of terry towels nappies and a steering group made up of representatives from Bradford Council, Bradford Real Nappy Network and Bradford NHS Trust will oversee the project.

The co-ordinator who would work about 18 hours a week would get a pro-rata salary of about £19,000 and other funding would go to overheads and projects.

He or she would also be expected to work closely with Bradford Council set up nappy exchanges and a nappy laundering service.

Emma Hill, BEAT's sustainable waste co-ordinator who will manage the project, said: "There are enormous environmental benefits to using terry nappies and particularly if anyone has a second child. We want to raise awareness of this."