Disabled people at a centre in south Wales have become the workforce behind a plastic bottle recycling project to help reduce waste and develop business skills.

The Just Plastic Recycling scheme in the Vale of Glamorgan is run by users of the Sully Skills Development Centre - which aims to provide life long learning.

The public have really taken to recycling plastic bottles and we are already taking calls asking for more bottle banks to put around the area Jeff Jones, project manager

Nearly 80 disabled adults are involved in the work of collecting and sorting out waste from specific points in the area.

Five collection points are already in operation and are emptied daily by the scheme organisers.

Jeff Jones, project manager said: " We have 79 adults aged between 19 and 60 who use the centre every week.

"Under this new scheme, not only are we encouraging people to help the environment by recycling their plastic bottles and plastic bags, but we are giving our service users the chance to learn new skills.

"Many of our service users have coordination problems and this type of work helps improve the hand and eye coordination," he said.

As part of the project, the use the centre are able to gain a qualification in recycling to recognise their work.

Bottle banks

"We have got an accredited vocational award which 27 of our users are currently undertaking," said Mr Jones.

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"The project is really popular and our users are really happy to be taking part in it.

"The public have really taken to recycling plastic bottles and we are already taking calls asking for more bottle banks to put around the area," he said.

Organisers of the scheme, which has had funding from the New Opportunities Fund and Biffaward, hope that 200 tonnes of plastic will be recycled in the first year.

"A plastic bottle can take up to 30 years to biodegrade," said Mr Jones.

"This is a fantastic way of reducing waste and giving people new skills.

Remove tops

"Anyone can come down to the recycling project at Ty Verlon Industrial Estate, to drop off their plastic bottles and bags.

"Or they can put them into the bottle banks.

"But, what we do ask is that if people can remove the tops of the bottles.

"They are the only thing we can't recycle and removing all the tops can take a long time," said Mr Jones.

Approximately three million tonnes of plastic is produced in the UK every year.

A tonne of plastic is equal to 20,000 two-litre bottles.