Plastic waste: Milton Keynes Council cleared after Malaysia waste find

About 50 Milton Keynes Council pink recycling sacks were found in a giant area of dumped plastics

A council was not responsible for exporting pink recycling sacks found 10,000km (6,200 miles) away in Malaysia, a report found.

Milton Keynes Council ordered an audit of recycling after the sacks were found by a BBC documentary.

An independent report found plastics were not exported "intentionally or by accident".

It also found no breach of legislation by the council or its contractors.

In the BBC TV show, War on Plastic with Hugh and Anita, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall visited a giant mound of recycling waste found by Greenpeace in Malaysia and found about 50 of the council's pink sacks.

The bags were found by the BBC's War on Plastic with Hugh and Anita, co-hosted by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

It questioned whether recycling from the UK was being exported to Malaysia.

The council, which is under no overall control, with Labour the largest party, commissioned a review to establish whether its plastics were processed in line with environmental legislation.

The report, by Wood Environment & Infrastructure Solutions UK Ltd, found recycling sacks were processed in the UK where they are turned into fragments suitable for reuse.

Councillor Emily Darlington said: "The report looks in great detail into our supply chain and into the actions of our contractors and confirms that we do not export waste to Malaysia.

"We hope this independent report encourages people to recycle. In Milton Keynes our recycling is processed properly and even our non-recyclable waste has a use, creating energy."

The council's Conservative environment spokesman Dan Gilbert said questions remained.

"There's still no clear answer as to how MK recycling sacks got to Malaysia," he said.