Scotland’s bottle deposit scheme should include cartons and other plastics, a report has urged today.

Scottish Parliament’s Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee said the proposed scheme could have a ‘real and lasting’ impact on climate change.

However, it warned that there was disagreement about what materials should be included and how the scheme will operate.

As well as expanding what materials the scheme would focus on, the report also calls for a minimum deposit rate of 20p.

Committee Convenor, Gillian Martin, said: ‘There is no doubting the ambition behind the introduction of the deposit return scheme in Scotland. And it is clear from those we heard from across the country that there is support for the scheme and its aims to help meet the challenging climate change targets and address the problems of litter, particularly in our marine environment.

‘But for this scheme to be effective, we need to ensure that this operates in a way that is understandable and easy to use for the public and businesses alike. We support the initial focus of the scheme but have today asked the Government to ensure we can add materials to the scheme, in a phased way, so it is as wide-ranging as possible.'