Hospital goes green

The cotton nappies, produced by the Stalkeco company in the Isle of Man, were provided by East Sussex County Council.

Nappies, after syringes, are the biggest clinical waste problem for local councils and costs around 350 to incinerate per tonne in East Sussex, releasing harmful dioxins into the environment.

Babies born in the area generate around 1,500 tons of nappy waste and such disposables produce 60 times more waste and 3.5 times more energy than their greener counterparts.

Chris Cowling, community midwifery manager, said, "We are thrilled that the county council has provided us with several hundred cotton nappies which will be used across Hastings, Eastbourne and Crowborough.

"This will work out much cheaper and of course it will drastically reduce the waste we produce, helping the environment.

"We have made an arrangement with our laundry services in order to make this scheme possible and we would like to thank everyone involved."