Researchers at the University of Bath are involved in a project to reduce the amount of plastic used in food packaging.

Staff from the university's department of mechanical engineering are hoping to cut the amount of material used in packaging for items such as rice, pasta and crisps by 13 per cent.

The work on designing a more efficient way of sealing the packaging should reduce the volume of such waste ending up in rubbish dumps of 39,000 tonnes a year.

They are working on a two-year project funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

They will examine the process used to mechanically fill and seal packaging and then design a new packing machine which uses less plastic and can be run on recycled materials.

Senior research fellow Dr Ben Hicks, deputy director of the university's Innovative Design Manufacturing Research Centre, said: "Projects such as this are fundamental to the consumer goods industry if it is to meet the challenge of sustainability."