Britain should scrap plastic bottles and exclusively return to using glass, a former minister, Conservative former minister Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) told the House of Commons.

According to the UK government, an estimated 14 billion plastic bottles and and five billion glass bottles are used by people in the UK every year.

However, the move to pay people for recycling drinks containers has also been delayed, with environment minister Jo Churchill confirming it is not expected until 2025.

“Recycling plastic is energy and emission-intensive, so wouldn’t we be better to end the use of plastic bottles and concentrate on the deposit and return of glass ones,” Swayne said.

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However, according to Churchill, it is about the “use of the appropriate material for the appropriate product.”

She said: “Plastic is a good product when used sensibly and when able to be recycled and we often see now 100% recycled.

“We are introducing a deposit return scheme for drinks containers so that consumers can easily recycle their containers, and news of this and work on this will be coming forward shortly to be delivered in 2025.”

The scheme would charge customers a levy on drinks bottles and cans that is paid back when they bring them to return points hosted by retailers for recycling.

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