Council defends £26,000 'nappy coordinator'

A county council today defended its decision to hire a £26,000 a year cotton nappy coordinator, saying the post could save taxpayers large sums of money.

Surrey County Council has advertised for someone to encourage hospitals to switch from using disposable to cloth nappies as well as carrying out promotions and demonstrations.

The "exciting" new post comes with a benefits package which includes a car loan and help with relocation.

But Dave Ricketts, waste policy manager at the council, denied the job was a waste of resources, saying it cost £700,000 a year to send disposable nappies to landfill.

"Up to 4% of household waste in Surrey consists of used disposable nappies, which equates to approximately 25,000 tonnes per year," he said.

"Investment in a £26,000 cotton nappy coordinator post is a great example of proactive investment in order to turn the problem around and save Surrey taxpayers some of this huge financial burden."