Families in Leicestershire are being urged not to put disposable nappies in their recycling bins - after figures showed that 5500 tonnes of the county's recycling was rejected last year due to contamination by nappies, food waste or other non-recyclable items.

Casepak, who process Leicestershire's recycling, can find up to 4,000 nappies a day in amongst the glass, plastic and cardboard they sort - and often have to remove them by hand.

Now Leicestershire County Council has joined forces with Keep Britain Tidy to back its #TedSays campaign to encourage residents to recycle responsibly and to put nappies where they belong – in the general waste bin.

The campaign is fronted by 'Ted' the teddy bear who will be appearing on billboards across the country and social media, with the message that just one nappy can spoil a whole truckload of recycling.

Research shows that there is genuine confusion about where nappies should be binned and Keep Britain Tidy is calling on nappy manufacturers to clearly label their products as non-recyclable.

Councillor Blake Pain, cabinet member for the environment, said: "In the UK, 7% of parents and carers who use disposable nappies, put them in their recycling – that's over a million people.

"Putting nappies in recycling can result in loads being rejected at recycling sorting centres and this is costly and results in more waste going to landfill.

"We're committed to doing our best to improve the environment and that's why we are pleased to be backing Keep Britain Tidy and its #TedSays campaign."

Keep Britain Tidy's Chief Executive Allison Ogden-Newton OBE said: "We are delighted to be partnering with Leicestershire County Council to tackle this issue. Recycling contamination, including disposable nappies, costs local authorities hundreds of thousands of pounds a year and stops many tonnes of waste from being recycled."