EMERGING entrepreneurs from Monmouth School have come up with a practical idea for recycling empty milk bottles.

The eight-strong team will be turning donated plastic into unique chopping boards under their company name, Polymade.

They have established the eco-friendly firm to enter into a national Young Enterprise competition.

With all eight boys taking on different roles, the scheme gives them hands-on experience of what it’s like to run a business.

Mahfuz Abdul-Hamid, Polymade’s director of marketing, said that the group wanted to set up a business that everyone could relate to.

The 16-year-old added:"Everyone goes through milk, so people are bound to have empty bottles lying around. They either get recycled or put into black bin bags and we never see what happens to them afterwards."

The boys are able to collect around 80 empty milk bottles a week from the school’s boarding houses to bring their idea to life in the design and technology (DT) department.

Hamad Aloufan, 17, the company’s sales representative, said: “Plastic isn’t biodegradable and a lot of it goes to landfills, so we became creative with it."

The team has access to an industrial shredder and sheet press in the school's, DT workshop, where they have perfected the design through trial and error.

Hamad added: “So far I’ve learned operating a business is not as easy as you think. Lots of work goes into it before you can start selling your product.

“Organisation and good teamwork are key – you have to be a team player to make it work."

To follow Polymade’s progress, follow the company on Instagram, @polymade.ye, and on Twitter, @Polymade_YE