Waste management company, Viridor has agreed a two-year contract with KS Plastics, which is based in Lydbrook, to reprocess around 5,000 tonnes of recycling sacks, shopping bags and film each year - material that would have otherwise been sent abroad.

The partnership will give new life to plastic material sourced from material recovery facilities (MRFs) in Crayford, Milton Keynes, Masons and Plymouth.

Previously, this plastic would be sent for reprocessing at sites in the Far East and, more recently, in Turkey.

Keith Trower, managing director at Viridor Resource Management (VRM), said the company was committed to establishing long term and sustainable outlets for all material streams. “VRM is actively seeking opportunities to agree end-of-waste contracts with reprocessors here in the UK where this demand and capacity exists.

“The resource market remains a global market, governed by the basic principles of supply and demand, but we recognise public sentiment that the UK should find a way to deal with its own waste.”