Labour has teamed up with the Green Party to co-sponsor its Waste Reduction Bill.

The Bill would see non-biodegradable coffee cups banned from 2020, and introduce a deposit and refund scheme for closed beverage containers.

Labour leader Brendan Howlin TD said: "The Waste Reduction Bill will put in place a deposit and refund scheme for cans and bottles, which is already standard practice across many EU countries, and will ban coffee cups that can't be composted.

"For too long the Government has dragged its feet on the environment, promising to act but so far, delivering nothing. Look no further than their draft climate mitigation plan which was universally rubbished, and so far we have seen no improvement to that draft.

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"When faced with Government inaction on this scale, it is important that progressive voices unite in common cause. Over the past few months for example, both Labour and the Greens also published Bills to ban microbeads."

Green Party leader Eamon Ryan TD said: "There is broad consensus that the measures we've proposed are sensible, achievable, and will have a positive impact for the environment and for consumers.

"We want to help householders lower their waste bills by reducing the amount of waste materials at source. The implementation of a deposit refund scheme and the ban of plastic cups will take a few years and will have to be cleverly integrated into the existing Repak recycling system.

"We are convinced this can be done in a way which increases recycling, reduces litter, saves the householder money and wins public support for protecting our environment."

(CD/LM)