Winchester MP has pledged support for tackling plastic pollution across the UK.

Danny Chambers has pledged support for the initiative both locally and nationally.

On Tuesday, October 31, he met City to Sea, a leading environmental charity working to tackle plastic pollution at the source, at a reception at the House of Commons in London, hosted by Environment, Food and Rural Affairs committee chair Alistair Carmichael MP.

Campaigners highlighted the need for further bans on single-use plastics, legally binding targets for reusable and refillable packaging, and an all-in deposit return scheme, where a small refundable deposit is placed on single-use beverage packaging.

This comes as new research from City to Sea, launched at the event, found that eighty-six per cent of the public would welcome a reduction in plastic litter in their local area, which could be largely achieved by the above policies.

Campaigners also discussed the recent efforts of brands and retailers to address plastic waste through refillable and reusable packaging schemes.

These systems allow customers to bring containers to stores and fill them with goods from dispensers or purchase products in reusable packaging that is then returned to stores to be cleaned and reused.

City to Sea emphasised the benefits of legally binding reusable packaging targets to help more retailers transition away from single-use packaging.

Dr Chambers said: "Plastic pollution is an unwelcome site in both my constituency and across the country, with detrimental impacts on the environment.

"It was a positive step to meet campaigners to understand the measures we can work towards to tackle the plastic problem. Throughout this new Parliament, I look forward to supporting plastic bans, reusable packaging targets and an all-in Deposit Return Scheme to create a cleaner, waste-free Britain."

Jane Martin, CEO of City to Sea, said: "We are very grateful to Danny for his support. Whilst great steps have been taken to tackle the plastic problem, we know that more must be done to build a cleaner, more sustainable future.

"We are pleased to work with parliamentarians, businesses and packaging specialists to work towards a future where single-use packaging becomes a thing of the past."

Such targets would encourage packaging manufacturers to produce materials that can be repeatedly used, collected, washed, refilled, and resold, thus reducing overall packaging waste.

Seventy-three per cent of Britons would like the government to ban all single-use packaging wherever possible.