British retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S) said it is investing £5m (US$7.6m) to help four local authorities recycle 60,000 tons of packaging material every year by 2015.
As part of a Local Authority Recycling Partnership scheme, the company said it will spend £1.25m (US$1.9m) over the next five years to help add plastics and cardboard to domestic collections.
The partnerships will mean 15,000 tons of packaging waste will be diverted back into food packaging and reused by M&S with the remaining 45,000 tons sold to other packaging producers.
The company said the initiative has helped to reduce food packaging by 16%, and more than 90% of its packaging was recyclable.
The investment enables Somerset County Council to introduce plastics and cardboard to the recyclable materials it collects across its five district councils.
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