PLANS to introduce a returnable deposit on plastic bottles and aluminium cans will help clean up Dorset’s beauty spots, campaigners say.

The government is to introduce the scheme in England and will consult on the details.

The retailer Iceland has offered to try “reverse vending machines”, so users can put bottles in and get the deposits out.

Peter Ryan, founder of Dorset Devils, which picks up litter along the coast, welcomed the scheme.

“Like many organisations and groups out there, we’ve been waiting for the day when we see sense and recognise the deposit return scheme is going to be a great initiative,” he said.

“The key to the situation is ‘on-the-go eating’, which we didn’t used to have. That makes a great impact on our coastline and on our outdoor space like our beautiful Bournemouth beach.”

He said similar schemes had been successful in Norway and other European countries.

“It can only be better for our environment and wildlife especially,” he added.

Around 40 countries already have a version of the deposit scheme for bottles or aluminium cans. Deposits range from around 6p in Austria to 22p in Germany, where recycling rates are more than 90 per cent.

Cllr David Smith, Bournemouth council’s cabinet member for the environment, takes part in Dorset Devils’ litter picks. He said he would be “more than happy” with a deposit scheme.

“Fifty per cent of what we pick up is bottles and cans,” he said.

He said he had recently collected litter form Winton Rec. Winton Rec “I got probably three sacks full of rubbish and 50 per cent is bottles and cans,” he added.

Some councils have voiced concerns that their kerbside recycling schemes could become less viable. But Cllr Smith said if fewer bottles were in the bins, councils would not need so many vehicles and bin rounds.

The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) said it was delighted by the announcement from environment secretary Michael Gove.

Its president, author and Daily Echo sub-editor Bill Bryson, said: “I wholeheartedly congratulate Michael Gove for his wisdom in finally accepting the case for a deposit return system in the UK – I never thought I would see this in my lifetime.

“Future generations will look back on this decision as a piece of supremely enlightened policymaking, and one that raises the prospect of the world’s most beautiful country becoming free from drinks container litter at last. My most profound gratitude goes to the tireless campaigners and heroic litter pickers of CPRE who, for the past decade, have kept the issue alive in the minds of our politicians, press and public.”

Samantha Harding, its litter programme director, said: “This is a brilliant and significant decision by Michael Gove. I am thrilled that we will finally see the many benefits a deposit system will bring to England, not least the absence of ugly drinks containers in our beautiful countryside.

A poll for waste management company SUEZ suggests three quarters of people would return drinks containers if there were a 10p deposit.