Floating islands of plastic bottles, fish choking on plastic bags. These have been some of the most alarming images of 2017, and now MPs are demanding drastic action: free drinking fountains in public places or a deposit on plastic bottles, anything to protect oceans from the “devastating” impact of pollution.

One idea is a sliding scale of taxes, or a deposit scheme like in Finland, which recycles 92% of its plastic bottles. But more profoundly, are people willing to rethink their throwaway culture?

MPs demand action on plastic bottles