A NORTH-EAST plastics firm, which makes the UK's lightest milk bottle, has achieved another first.

Nampak Plastics, in Consett, County Durham, has trialled the world's first four pint milk bottle made up of about 30 per cent recycled high density polyethylene plastic (HDPE).

The move comes after the firm, which is working with Closed Loop Recycling, created its 32g Infini bottle that is the lightest and strongest bottle of its type in the UK dairy market, and is being sold in Marks and Spencer, Morrisons and Sainsbury's.

Nampak bosses say that bottle, which won an industry award for sustainability, will save the dairy business about 25,000 tonnes of material every year.

Eric Collins, Nampak managing director, said: “We wanted to increase the amount of recycled HDPE in our bottles to up to 30 per cent by 2015, but have proved this can be reached well ahead of schedule.

“All of our bottles, including the Infini range, currently contain up to 15 per cent, but moving to 30 per cent is a major step forward for the British milk industry.”