Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with soft drinks manufacturers on phasing out single-use plastic bottles.

We have not had discussions on phasing out single use plastic bottles. However, as part of our wider consultation on the introduction of a deposit return scheme for drinks containers, we have been working closely with soft drinks manufacturers and other stakeholders on proposals aimed at boosting recycling rates, reducing littering and recovering high quality materials for reprocessing. The consultation closed on 13 May and we will issue a response in due course.