Plastic recycling firms accused of abusing market

The plastics recycling industry faces an investigation amid reports firms are illegally profiting from the market and in some cases polluting rivers.

The Environment Agency, the regulator, confirmed it had set up an investigative team and was pursuing "several lines of inquiry".It comes as councils cut back their plastics recycling services amid a fall in demand for exports to China. Importers are said to be worried about high contamination levels in UK waste. Britain sends about two-thirds of its plastic packaging waste abroad every year, including plastic bottles, yoghurt pots, and other items.

§  Exporters are illegally claiming for tens of thousands of tonnes of plastic waste which might not exist

§  Plastic waste is not being recycled and is being left to leak into rivers and oceans

§  UK firms accused of shipping contaminated waste - when non-recyclable items are mixed in with recyclables items - are being allowed to continue exporting.