Millions of drinks containers would still end up littering the UK countryside if industry succeeds in excluding in certain sizes and types of bottle from the government's planned Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), campaigners have today warned.

The government is currently considering a range of options for its planned DRS, including an 'all in' approach that would cover all types of drinks bottles and cans and a narrower 'on the go' approach that would limit the types of containers covered by the scheme.

The proposals have divided some industry groups and campaigners, with some warningan 'all in' approach would be costly and difficult to manage, and others fearing that without an all-encompassing scheme the DRS will struggle to deliver the anticipated boost in recycling rates. 

The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) today published the results of a nationwide litter pick which found 7,500 drinks containers during the month of September.

The group said that nearly a quarter of glass bottles collected were over the 750ml size limit, the current upper limit for a DRS under the proposed 'on the go' version of the DRS, while some 28 per cent of plastic bottles found were larger than 500ml.

More than one in 10 drinks containers collected were glass, but this did not include broken pieces volunteers were unable to count, CPRE said, noting that some industry groups had opposed the inclusion of glass in the DRS altogether.

The DRS will be legislated for as part of the Environment Bill, which was published this week. However, in its current form the bill does not specify what materials will be included or when the scheme will be introduced.

In July, research by CPRE estimated the economic value of a DRS to England at £2bn over 10 years if the government opted for an 'all in' approach.

Tom Fyans, deputy chief executive of CPRE, the countryside charity, said: "It's great to see the government include powers to introduce a DRS in the environment bill, but as the results of our nation-wide litter-pick demonstrate, in order to be an effective deterrent to the high volumes of waste polluting our natural environment, it must cover all materials of all sizes."

In May, the Scottish Government announced plans for an "all in" DRS, with a deposit of 20p charged per container.

Announcing the Environment Bill, environment secretary Teresa Villiers said that the English scheme would mirror that in Scotland.

"This provides further hope that the government is listening as we make the case for an ambitious approach to tackling the problem of litter," Fyans said. "But there is no time to waste so we hope the DRS element of the Bill will be a priority as the government takes forward this vital piece of legislation."