Hertfordshire's waste chief has revealed the item most commonly sent for recycling that is NOT recyclable.

While food-covered cartons, out-of-date tins and plastic bottles with milk inside are common mistakes, the biggest blunder is a smelly one - nappies! 

Chair of the Hertfordshire Waste Partnership, Cllr Eric Buckmaster, said: "The worst one we get is disposable nappies in the recycling stream.

"If we could pick one element, click my fingers and the problem would disappear, it's the amount of disposable nappies that we get in the dry recycling stream."

Cllr Buckmaster added that if people fully engaged with the recycling services there should be no reason to put disposable nappies in that stream.

He also urged any residents struggling with bin capacity to contact their local authority for support and advice.

Whilst most items are technically recyclable, products such as nappies contaminate dry recyclables created at the end of the process - reducing their quality.

That recycled product is then harder to sell, which makes the recycling process's economic model less viable.

"Not only that, let's be blunt, the human waste inside a nappie is very, very unpleasant," Cllr Buckmaster added. "It's just not something we should be handling via the recycling stream."

The Herts Waste Partnership runs a reusable nappy scheme that offers discounts on reusable nappies for families in the county.