AN investigation has found a Colchester Council branded recycling bag near a plant which illicitly burns waste in Indonesia.

National newspaper The Daily Telegraph has revealed the remains of a plastic recycling bag issued to residents in Colchester was discovered near to a plant close to the country's capital Jakarta.

The Telegraph’s reporting team found plastic waste from the UK was being burnt on open tips in the village of Pasar Kemis.

Concerns have been raised about the knock on effects of burning the waste, with people in the area reporting problems breathing and with the disease of bronchitis.

Colchester's MP Will Quince shared the Telegraph article on Twitter and said he would be asking for answers over the incident.

He said: "Colchester Council makes the news and it's deeply concerning. I will be writing to the Lib Dem waste portfolio holder pressing for an urgent investigation into this troubling article and picture of Colchester waste ready to be burnt in Indonesia.

"I will also write to the Essex County Council waste cabinet member to ask them to make similar enquiries as I know people do put Colchester Council recycling bags into the containers at their waste facilities."

According to industry experts Lets Recycle around 18,000 tonnes of plastic packaging waste was sent to Indonesia from Britain in the first half of 2019.

Waste boss Martin Goss said: "We have investigated where our suppliers send the waste and they have assured us as far as they are aware nothing has been send to the far east or Indonesia.

"This was just part of a bag which was found, not even with any waste.

"We are only the waste collection authority and we do not have a waste licence. It goes off to third parties who are responsible for the disposal.

"This bag could have been used for other waste rather than recycling and gone anywhere including to Essex County Council."

Colchester council has promised to fully investigate how the bag ended up on the tip in Indonesia.

The authority uses waste contractors regulated by the Environment Agency.

A spokesman said: "We have established, from the design on the plastic bag, that it is at least pre-2018 when two registered waste management companies were responsible for processing Colchester’s plastic waste.

“Until we undertake further investigations, we are unable at this time to account for the original source of the bag found in Indonesia.

“It remains the case, however, that we do not have control over the way people use the plastic bags we distribute to households, and that they may sometimes be used for purposes unrelated to recycling.

“All of Colchester's recycling is currently processed, from kerbside collection to production of the raw material used to make new products, within the UK and Europe.”