A deposit return scheme for plastic bottles could be on the cards for Wales as the Welsh Government investigates solutions to plastic waste.

A consultation launched by the Welsh Government says a deposit return scheme(DRS) could work in a similar way to those on the continent, where the shopper pays a deposit of around 10-25p on every bottle before depositing the empty container in a special machine, which then produces a refund token. In Norway a similar scheme has raised plastic recycling rates to around 97%.

The joint consultation will run alongside others in England and Northern Ireland, while the Scottish Government consulted on proposals for a DRS last year.

Deputy Minister for Housing and Local Government Hannah Blythyn said: “Plastic waste and packaging waste are important issues. Every year in the UK, we generate around 11 million tonnes of packaging waste as a whole 2.3 million tonnes of which is plastic packaging waste.

“Wales is a world leader in recycling but we want to go further, we want to take action to minimise the amount of packaging we use, and incentivise better design of products and packaging, so that it can be reused or easily recycled. This could stimulate economic opportunities for Wales and support our aim to become a more circular economy.

“Our position as a world leader in recycling means our circumstances are different from the rest of the UK. I am particularly keen to explore whether a DRS for drinks containers would work for Wales, given our already high recycling rate.

"I would like to hear views from all sectors on these proposals as I want to understand the likely impact on local authority income and recycling rates, and also on businesses. I would also like to hear from members of the public. If a DRS is to be introduced in Wales, shoppers will be expected to pay a deposit on drinks containers and have to manually return empty containers to collection points in order to claim back their deposit, rather than use household waste collections provided by their councils.

“I would therefore urge people in Wales to read and respond to the consultations to make sure Wales’ voice is heard on these issues.”