The government has invited views on how reward and return schemes for drinks containers could reduce littering of plastic, metal and glass drinks containers in the UK.

More than eight million tonnes of plastic are discarded into the world’s oceans each year, putting marine wildlife under serious threat.

Up to 80% of this is estimated to have been originally lost or discarded on land before washing out to sea, and plastic bottles are a particular concern. Figures show that just 57% of those sold in the UK in 2016 collected for recycling.

This compares to a record 90% of deposit-marked cans and bottles that were returned to dedicated recycling facilities in Denmark, and a return rate of almost 80% of beverage containers in South Australia, both of which have a form of deposit return scheme.

To improve these numbers and increase recycling, environment secretary Michael Gove has asked organisations and individuals to share their views with the government on the advantages and disadvantages of different types of reward and return schemes for plastic, metal and glass drinks containers that could help reduce the number of bottles entering our waterways.

He said: "We must protect our oceans and marine life from plastic waste if we are to be the first generation to leave our environment in a better state than we found it. That means tackling the rise in plastic bottles entering our waters by making it simpler and easier to recycle and dispose of them appropriately.

"We are launching a call for evidence to help us understand how reward and return schemes for plastic bottles and other drinks containers could work in England. This approach has already seen great success in other countries such as Denmark in curbing plastic pollution and we want to hear people’s ideas on how we could make it work in England.

"This adds to the progress we have already made in cleaning up our oceans by significantly reducing plastic bag use and drawing up one of the world’s toughest bans on plastic microbeads."

The evidence submitted will be examined by the government’s working group which includes brand and retail giants such as Coca Cola and Tesco.

This builds on waste initiatives already launched by the government, including the 5p plastic bag charge which has reduced use by 83 per cent.

Some nine billion fewer carrier bags have been distributed since the charge was introduced and more than £95million raised donated to environmental, educational and other good causes.

In addition, legislation for the government’s ban on microbeads that has been welcomed by campaigners as one of the toughest in the world will be introduced later this year and assessment continues in how best to tackle other sources of microplastics from polluting the seas.

Evidence can be submitted at consult.defra.gov.uk/waste-and-recycling/call-for-evidence-drinks-containers/