£13 million recycling plant will green M&S

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The retailer has become one of the first companies to join a scheme aimed at boosting recycling by businesses and cutting the amount of rubbish going to landfill.

M&S has put recycling bins in its head office for the staff's lunchtime bottles and wrappings. Refuse collected from the bins will be sent to the Closed Loop plant in Dagenham, which is being officially opened today.

There, the plastic will be washed, cleaned and ground into granules to be melted down then turned into new plastic packaging for eco-friendly food products.

M&S chief executive Sir Stuart Rose said: "Closed Loop is a major step forward. We will be able to send our Food to Go waste for recycling and use even more recycled plastic in our packaging."

The retailer has already launched Plan A, a five-year, 100-point plan to make the company more environmentally friendly.

Closed Loop can recycle more than 35,000 tonnes of plastic bottles a year. Its managing director, Australian environmentalist Chris Dow, said: "Companies can't just steam along contrary to public opinion. We have to deal with our waste.

"Previously, plastic waste would simply be shipped to Asia. It is not only about reducing the carbon emissions induced from the travel, it is about taking responsibility for our actions."

About 1.2 million tonnes of British plastics end up in landfill each year.

Closed Loop has been co-funded by Governmentbacked group Waste and Resources Action Programme and is supported by the London Development Agency.