LONDON - Scientists have created a super-enzyme that decomposes plastic bottles six times faster than before. It is hoped the enzyme, created from bacteria that naturally evolved the ability to eat plastic, could herald a breakthrough in recycling. Researchers also believe it could be adapted to mean mixed-fabric clothing could be recycled, as millions of tonnes is currently either dumped in landfill or incinerated every year.

Waste sent abroad from Britain to be recycled may instead be ending up in landfill sites as a result of inadequate monitoring of the system, the National Audit Office (NAO) has warned.

A new report by the Government’s spending watchdog criticises the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) for its failure to ensure that companies are meeting their packaging recycling obligations.

Latest figures show that each year the UK throws away 27 million tons of waste, around 45% of which is reported to be recycled. Under EU recycling targets, that should increase to at least 50% by 2020.

Nearly two-thirds of the UK’s total waste plastic exports are sent to China. But the Chinese government intends to stop the importation of 24 kinds of solid waste, including plastic water bottles, by the end of the year, in a campaign against  “foreign garbage”.