Schemes which give customers money back for returning bottles could themselves be making a return.

From the 1900s until the 1980s, when glass bottles were the most commonly used in the UK, many stores would offer refunds for their return to be recycled.

But now the idea of a deposit return scheme (DRS) for plastic bottles has won the backing of two supermarkets, Iceland and the Co-op, the first major retailers to support the policy to promote recycling and tackle ocean plastic pollution.

It would allow British consumers to enjoy a drink of juice or water without adding to pollution - as well as getting some of their money back, reports Thomson Reuters Foundation .

"Introducing a DRS may well add to our costs of doing business. However, we believe it is a small price to pay for the long term sustainability of this planet," said Richard Walker, director for sustainability at Iceland Foods, in a statement.

"I urge all other retailers to do the right thing and follow suit."

A deposit return scheme involves consumers paying a small deposit that is refunded when they return empty plastic bottles and is common in many parts of the world including Denmark, Germany and Australia.

From fishing lines to flip flops, there are more than five trillion pieces of plastic floating in the world's oceans, according to a 2014 study.

As concern grows about vast floating fields of plastic debris, environmental groups are lobbying the government and retailers to take action to catch up with other countries on cutting plastic littering and marine pollution.

"We hope that other supermarkets will see the way the wind is blowing on this issue ... and follow Iceland and the Co-op in recognising that our oceans should not be our rubbish bin," said Tisha Brown of Greenpeace UK.

Britain recycled just over half of the bottles that were sold in 2016, well behind the rates achieved in Denmark and South Australia where deposit return schemes boosted rates to as high as 90 percent.