Green campaigners are calling for enterprising people to come forward and run an environmentally-friendly nappy service in Bradford.

A start-up grant is available to a community group willing to launch a service to help families reduce their waste by re-using special washable nappies.

The Bradford Environmental Action Trust (BEAT), which gives out green grants from landfill tax, is actively seeking applicants for such a scheme.

Disposable nappies are a scourge of green campaigners because they are such a large component of the waste produced by the district.

And worse, the plastic linings and absorbent material in the throwaway product is often non-biodegradable, and survives for years buried in the ground.

Pete Stevens, of BEAT, said: "Waste minimisation is one of our main areas of concern. We'd be very keen on supporting a nappy project, but we haven't had any applications yet."

Schemes had operated successfully in other towns and cities and had worked out at the same cost, or cheaper, than buying disposable nappies, said Mr Stevens.

Parents pay a subscription fee and the nappies, which are a durable and washable version of normal disposable nappies, are used with a paper liner.

When the nappy has been used, the paper liner and contents are flushed down the toilet while the nappies are placed in a bucket for collection.

The nappy service would collect the dirty nappies, wash them and return them.

"Dirty disposable nappies make up something like 50 per cent of the waste produced by a young family with two children," said Mr Stevens. "I should imagine there's a hideous amount of nappies being disposed of in Bradford at the moment. A re-usable nappy service would still work out cheaper for people. I've heard people can save £800 per baby."

He said BEAT was keen to raise awareness and encourage people to think about the waste they produce and how it can be cut down.

BEAT committee member and father-of-three Mark Shayler, of Nab Wood, Shipley, said he was in favour of 'real nappies'. He and wife Nicola use biodegradable disposable nappies for one-year-old Matilda.

"It would be great if a real nappy service set up in Bradford. It's too late for us, but it would be great for other people," he said.

"I'm not horribly fanatical about it. Sometimes they are practical, other times they're not - it depends on your lifestyle."

Kathleen Damant, who runs the mother and toddler group at St Martin's Church, Haworth Road, Bradford, welcomed the scheme.

"I have always thought that re-usable nappies were much better from an ecological point of view," said the former midwife, of Heaton.

"The disposables are convenient in that you don't have to wash them but they are damaging the environment. I'm a grandmother now but I would strongly recommend using the green nappies.

"At the mother and toddler group the majority of people are still using disposables but hopefully more information about the new nappies will encourage people to use them."

More details about the BEAT grants are available from Pete Stevens on (01274) 754922.