A scheme is being proposed to encourage recycling and cut plastic waste, which would see customers in England pay more for drinks in the shops.

Customers will then be able to claim the money back if they return their drinks containers to be recycled.

The scheme will apply to all single-use drink containers whether they are plastic, glass or metal.

Scotland has already announced plans for a deposit return scheme, while the Welsh Assembly is also looking into the possibility.

How might it work?

How exactly this will work is going to be consulted on, but we can look to other countries with deposit return schemes for clues.

There are 40 countries and 21 US states with some kind of deposit return scheme currently in operation.

A small extra cost (between 8p and 22p) is added to the price of the drink, which is then refunded to the customer when they take it back to be recycled.

In some areas, bottles or cans are taken back to the shop they were bought from, while in others a network of automated collection points known as "reverse vending machines" have been installed.