Government environmental minister Michael Meacher officially opened the port of Southampton's new £2m glass-recycling operation in the Western Docks.

The glass-processing facility - the first of its type to be built in a UK port - processes used bottle-glass collected from Hampshire and the surrounding areas into refined crushed material, which is then shipped around the UK coast for use in the bottle-making industry.

It is expected at least 24,000 tonnes of glass a year will be processed through the complex, resulting in almost 2,000 heavy goods vehicle movements being taken off the roads every year.

The development was spearheaded by Project Integra, which worked jointly with the Midland Glass Processing Company while Associated British Ports (ABP) and Southampton-based stevedores,

Solent Stevedores secured a £800,000 Freight Facilities Grant from the government, which part-funded the

development.

Andrew Kent, ABP port director in Southampton, said: "This further highlights how UK ports can provide significant benefits for domestic distribution as well as for international trade, while encouraging environmentally friendly methods of transportation.

"An integrated element of this contract was the need to develop new and innovative markets for the collected glass.

"By locating the reprocessing facility at the port of Southampton, it enables the glass to be transported by coaster vessels as opposed to by road, and opens up the opportunity to explore overseas markets."