A pioneering scheme rewarding Oxfordshire parents whose babies wear reusable rather than disposable nappies has been axed because of poor take-up.

Gina Peliti, who runs a nappy laundering service in south Oxfordshire

The Real Nappy Voucher Scheme, introduced in 2002, was a county council initiative aimed at slashing the number of disposable nappies being dumped in landfill sites.

Parents who produced receipts for reusable nappy wraps and pads were reimbursed each time for the cost.

The scheme targeted parents of the 7,500 babies born in Oxfordshire each year - but less than 300 signed up over two years.

During that time the cost to the council was more than £8,400.

Now the county council is working in partnership with hospitals in a bid to encourage parents of newborn children to use washable nappies.

Gina Peliti, who runs a nappy laundering service from South Moreton, near Didcot, said that with an estimated 16,000 babies in nappies at any given time in Oxfordshire the burden on landfill was huge.

She said: "I think it's a great shame this scheme has been stopped when you think that a ton of nappy waste is produced by each child every year."

Disposable nappies make up roughly four per cent of all household waste.

Green county and city councillor Craig Simmons, whose child was a user of real nappies at the time the scheme was implemented, said: "This was one of the few genuine waste minimisation schemes that the county has implemented.

"It should be better promoted - not abandoned. The council is still promoting the use of real nappies, which is good, but without a financial incentive uptake is bound to be lower."

The county council is still considering building incinerators in Oxfordshire to burn rubbish as part of a long-term strategy to slash the amount of waste sent to landfill and avoid hefty fines due to be levied by the Government.

Each year about 300,000 tonnes of waste is dumped at landfill sites in the county.

By 2020 the county has to reduce the amount of landfill waste to 55,000 tonnes a year.

A council spokesman added: "There were a number of issues around the scheme, such as the amount of administration time required.

"Considering the John Radcliffe is the second largest maternity ward in the UK it was an obvious step to redirect resources into encouraging and working with them to use washable nappies in maternity wards, therefore making their use the norm."