Government proposals to introduce a plastic bottle return scheme have been backed by Mid Suffolk District Council.

The authority unanimously agreed to support initiatives being considered by the Government to reduce the amount of plastic waste and make retailers pay more towards recycling product packaging.

Suffolk is ranked second of 32 waste disposal authorities in two-tier areas for dry recycling.

Councillor Penny Otton, who put forward the motion at a meeting on Friday, said: “It is a well established fact that plastic is one of the worst pollutants of the environment.

“Plastic is expensive to dispose of and too much of it ends up at the bottom of the sea, where it is having an increasingly devastating effect on life in our oceans.

“By supporting the Government’s proposals we can help to make Suffolk the greenest county in the country by joining efforts to encourage residents to reuse plastic bottles and businesses to produce packaging which can be recycled more easily and cheaply.”