Plastic bottles recycled inside Wales

Plastic bottles thrown out by Welsh households will no longer have to leave the country to be recycled.

Recycling firm Plastic Sorting has been awarded £450,000 by the Welsh Assembly to set up a new recycling plant in Ebbw Vale.

Scheduled to open in 2010, the facility will sort and clean waste plastics for re-use and recycling.

Powered and heated by renewable energy, the plant will collect local rainfall for use in the recycling process.

Jane Davidson, Welsh Assembly environment minister, said she is “delighted” to be supporting the new recycling centre.

“Research shows that recycling is often the thing people most recognise as being their main contribution towards improving the environment,” Davidson said.

“Having clean, good quality recyclable material, such as plastic bottles, will be a key part in making our vision for a society that produces as little waste as possible.”

She added that the new plant will bring jobs and investment to the area.

Janet Rawlings, project manager for the plant, said: “We hope that it will provide the cornerstone of a wider green business park to be built around it leading to further employment.”