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Plastic waste from Welsh towns and villages has been discovered piled up in a jungle more than 6,500 miles away.

The alarming find was made by celebrity chef and television personality Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall as he trawled through an area of wasteland in Malaysia.

While filming alongside Anita Rani for a new BBC documentary about the amount of plastic we use, Fearnley-Whittingstall came across a 20ft high mountain of plastic waste, including packaging and recycling bags - a scene which he described as “a dystopian nightmare”.

Some of that waste was evidently from Rhondda Cynon Taf after a recycling bag bearing the name of the council was found among the rubbish.

The mountains of waste has all been sent to Malaysia to be recycled, but it’s clear from the footage shown that the plastic items have been dumped and left on what should be a beautiful and natural area.

(Image: BBC)

It seems to be a growing problem, with millions of tonnes of plastic packaging used by British homes and businesses every year, according to the UK Government. A large proportion of this is then sent to other countries.

In recent years, the most popular destination for plastic packaging from the UK was China, but since they banned the practice in 2018, Malaysia now receives the most - importing more than 100,000 tonnes of plastic from Britain between October 2017 and November 2018.

With these numbers in mind, Rhondda Cynon Taf has moved to assure residents that “less than 3%” of its waste is exported, and that the overwhelming majority of the recycling done by those who live in the county does not end up blotting a foreign landscape.

A spokesperson for Rhondda Cynon Taf Council said: “Through the work of this programme the council was made aware that a Rhondda Cynon Taf recycling bag had been identified at a site in Maylaysia.

“To recycle material for future use, in a way all residents would want to see, the council sets in place contractual arrangements to process recyclable material.

“Despite the council utilising the correct contractual procedures, with accredited recycling processors, this unacceptable discovery has occurred. The council is as concerned and disappointed as residents will be by this discovery.

“Since being made aware of this matter, the council has conducted a full investigation with the accredited company concerned.

“On the basis of these investigations, we can confirm that only a small proportion, less than 3%, of Rhondda Cynon Taff waste was exported. We are therefore able to reassure residents that their positive recycling efforts are not in vain.

“As a council we believe the work of this programme highlights the need for the UK Government to provide stronger regulation of this industry, to ensure that waste and recyclable materials are unable to be disposed in this way internationally.”

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The company the council uses to recycle its materials is Telford-based Lovell Recycling Ltd, which provides an accredited waste management service.

They have stressed that, while they do export waste to foreign countries, they only do so with what is known as ‘approved end destinations’ for the materials in question, and admit that they don’t know how the waste from Rhondda Cynon Taff could have ended up in a Malaysian jungle.

A spokesman for Lovell Recycling Ltd said: “It is with great regret I write this statement following the information you (Rhondda Cynon Taff Council) provided to us, with regards to claims of materials being found in an area they should not have been.

“We take claims like the above very seriously and have investigated as much as possible.

“We have worked closely with the ‘end destination’ for many years and are very confident in the works they undertake.

“We have discussed this with the end user and they themselves are unsure how this could have occurred, as they have followed procedures, handled and processed the materials correctly with due diligence.

"We pride ourselves on following all duty of care and are very disappointed to be in this situation. During discussions with the end user, they have confirmed all materials have been processed and handled in the correct way as intended.”