North London residents are due for a stinky truth bomb as it is revealed babies’ disposable nappies are not being thrown away correctly, causing a serious contamination problem.

According to the North London Waste Authority (NLWA), more and more north Londoners are wrongly disposing of used nappies in their recycling bins wasting tonnes of recycling each year.

When used disposable nappies are put in the recycling bin instead of the rubbish bin the recycling is contaminated – if contamination levels are too high, recyclable material is thrown away.

In the last six months more than 1,600 tonnes of recycling had to be thrown away in North London because of contamination by non-recyclable items, including used baby and adult nappies.

Councillor Clyde Loakes is chair of NLWA, the authority responsible for disposing of waste collected by North London councils.

The NLWA is calling on big nappy companies to do more to stop nappy contamination in a letter sent to major brands today (November 22).

Cllr Loakes, who is a councillor for Leystone in Waltham Forest, said: “Contamination of household recycling is a real problem, and used nappies are one of the worst culprits.

“If the wrong things end up in the recycling then whole lorry loads of material which could have been sold and turned into new products will be thrown away instead.

“All of this costs taxpayers money and is bad for the environment.

“I’m calling on nappy producers to work with us to help deal with this problem.”

Cllr Loakes has asked for the information on packaging to be made clearer so people will be less confused about what can be recycled and what can’t.

In North London disposable nappies cannot be recycled – even if the packaging says they are biodegradable.

This means people working in refuse collection have to personally pick used nappies out of the recycling by hand, which costs time and money.

The NLWA also warned if recycling bins are contaminated with non-recyclable rubbish, including nappies, residents may find their recycling bins don’t get collected, leaving them with excess waste in the home.