Burnley MP Mrs Kitty Ussher's month-old son, George Patrick Colley, will be sporting the re-usable nappy as part of Lancashire County Council's Bottom Line project, which includes a free £45 voucher available to all parents to buy nappies.

She said: "Bottom Line encourages parents to try out real nappies. There are so many myths surrounding real nappies, and disposables seem to be such an easy option. But on top of the cost of keep buying disposables there are also the environmental costs to consider. Each nappy you throw away ends up buried in a landfill site somewhere."

County Coun. Tony Martin, cabinet member for sustainable development, said: "Ask anyone about cotton nappies and most people would think of terry squares, nappy pins and plastic pants.

"Big changes mean they are now as convenient and easy to use as disposables and, what's more, modern reusable nappies don't use pins, fastening instead with poppers or Velcro."

Every day in Lancashire nearly 46 tonnes of disposable nappies are thrown away into landfill sites where they may take up to 500 years to decompose.

Last year, more than 1,700 parents and guardians took advantage of the Bottom Line scheme to try real nappies on their babies. To register for a voucher, applicants must live in Lancashire with a baby under 18 months old or be expecting a baby before March 31st. To apply for the £45 voucher, contact the helpline on 0845 0500 957.