Labour push forward plans for a scheme for shoppers to pay a deposit on plastic bottles and cans to reduce litter and pollution

A plan to increase recycling of plastic bottles and drinks cans will help restore pride in Britain by reducing littering, ministers claim.

They say a deposit return scheme (DRS) – where a consumer pays a deposit on a drink but gets this refunded when they return the container- will mean cleaner streets.

Labour passed laws to begin the introduction of the scheme last week. After numerous set backs over the years, it is expected to start in October 2027.

Environment minister Mary Creagh told the Daily Mail: ‘We want to put the pride back into Britain. We want to clean up Britain. And I think people really want to clean up their streets, their parks, their communities.

‘There’s a huge appetite for this, because we know that when you see an item that is littered it can end up leading to fly tipping, wider environmental crime, serious organized crime.’

The scheme is already working in countries including Ireland, which has a 90per cent return rate just a few months after its…