CONSERVATIONISTS are calling on Ceredigion residents to get behind a campaign to introduce a deposit return scheme for plastic bottles after a rise in beach pollution.

The Marine Conservation Society, which conducts regular surveys and cleans at Tan-y-Bwlch, Aberystwyth North, Borth, Ynyslas, and Llanrhystud beaches, has said the amount of rubbish found on Welsh beaches has continued to rise.

And the MCS is urging residents to sign a petition which calls on the Welsh Government to introduce a deposit return scheme (DRS) on plastic bottles and for takeaway food containers to be fully compostable.

DRS works by attaching a financial incentive, between 10 and 20p per bottle, to return plastic bottles to a central collection point, where the bottles will then be sent for recycling.

The campaign come after the Cambrian News reported in January that Elin Jones AM was calling for Ceredigion to be considered for a pilot of a DRS following a similar campaign by Surfers Against Sewage.

Dr Sue Kinsey, MCS technical specialist, said: “We’re asking the Welsh Assembly to urge the Welsh Government to tackle the problem of bottles, cans and takeaway containers on our beaches.

“Deposit return systems – where people can return their bottles and cans and get their deposit back – have been known to increase high quality recycling levels to over 90 per cent in other parts of the world and decrease littering."

The petition closes midday on 18 April. You can sign the petition at bit.ly/2mXApZq. To sign SAS’ petition, visit www.sas.org.uk/messageinabottle/.

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