Football leagues across the UK have been told by a senior MP to cut the amount of single-use plastics used at stadiums.

Mary Creagh, the chair of the Commons Environmental Audit Committee, said deposit return schemes should be introduced at stadiums.

“There is a huge opportunity for sports organisations to reduce the use of throwaway plastic at matches and encourage fans to reduce, reuse, and recycle,” she said.

The Labour MP has written to the chairs of the English, Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish Football Leagues.

“Plastic litter ruins our streets, chokes our seas and endangers wildlife. We all need to do our bit to tackle the scourge of plastic pollution,” she said.

“I want the UK’s football leagues to show leadership on this issue.”

The Premier League has already said it will encourage clubs and fans to stop using single-use plastics at matches.

Tottenham Hotspur has said its state-of- the-art new stadium, due to open next season, will be free from plastic straws, stirrers, cutlery and its retail outlets will phase out standard 5p carrier bags.

A recent report from the committee concluded only 57% of the 13 billion plastic bottles used in the UK every year are recycled.

It said 700,000 plastic bottles are littered every day.

The MPs added the UK uses enough disposable coffee cups every year to stretch around the world five and a half times.