Many of us are concerned about the amount of plastic bottles that litter our streets – one of the solutions to this is a deposit return scheme.

There are successful examples in countries like Germany, Sweden and the Republic of Ireland, where deposit return schemes are a common-sense way that encourage people to recycle drinks containers.

Under these schemes, a redeemable deposit is placed on specific drinks containers that can be claimed when the item is returned to a collection point, such as a local shop.

There’s no need for a receipt or proof of purchase, so anyone can return their own drink containers or ones that they find.

The Welsh Government has announced that Wales' bottle and can return scheme will launch at the same time as the rest of the UK on 1 October 2027 - but crucially (and dismayingly) glass won’t be part of the scheme in full from the start.

It is nearly 20 years since Keep Wales Tidy first recommended glass be included as part of a comprehensive deposit scheme.

It is therefore deeply dismaying that the Welsh Government has scaled back on its ambition – since it had initially indicated it would go further than England by including glass.

It represents a missed opportunity for us in Wales to do something different, bolder, and greener than our neighbours across the border.

Schemes around the world that include glass are far more effective – and many of us are left wondering why the Welsh Government failed to act on this.