A UK supermarket has said it will ditch clear plastic and switch all its water bottles to a “cloudier” part-recycled material, which could prevent 350 tonnes of waste a year.

The Co-op has unveiled plans to sell all of its water in 50 per cent recycled plastic packaging which will appear slightly greyer - a “badge of honour” to eco-conscious consumers.

These bottles are 100 per cent recyclable and will be used in all Co-op’s own brand still, sparkling, and flavoured waters before the end of 2018.

The retailer told The Independent it was committed to the roll out, but it would be an interesting experiment in whether the environmental cachet would outweigh superficial factors when customers are deciding which product to pick.

Plastic waste across the world: in pictures Show all 15 1 /15 Plastic waste across the world: in pictures Plastic waste across the world: in pictures A father and son on a makeshift boat made from styrofoam paddle through a garbage filled river as they collect plastic bottles that they can sell in junkshops in Manila. The father and son team earn some three US dollars a day retrieving recyclables from the river. AFP/Getty Plastic waste across the world: in pictures A composite image of items found on the shore of the Thames Estuary in Rainham, Kent. Tons of plastic and other waste lines areas along the Thames Estuary shoreline, an important feeding ground for wading birds and other marine wildlife. Getty Images Plastic waste across the world: in pictures Children collect plastic water bottles among the garbage washed ashore at the Manila Bay. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, at current rates of pollution, there will likely be more plastic in the sea than fish by 2050. AFP/Getty Plastic waste across the world: in pictures Plastics and other detritus line the shore of the Thames Estuary. In December 2017 Britain joined the other 193 UN countries and signed up to a resolution to help eliminate marine litter and microplastics in the sea. It is estimated that about eight million metric tons of plastic find their way into the world's oceans every year. Once in the Ocean plastic can take hundreds of years to degrade, all the while breaking down into smaller and smaller 'microplastics,' which can be consumed by marine animals, and find their way into the human food chain. Getty Plastic waste across the world: in pictures A dump site in Manila in 2013. The Philippines financial capital banned disposable plastic shopping bags and styrofoam food containers, as part of escalating efforts across the nation's capital to curb rubbish that exacerbates deadly flooding. AFP/Getty Images Plastic waste across the world: in pictures Children swims in the sea full of garbage in North Jakarta, Indonesia. Getty Plastic waste across the world: in pictures An Indian woman holds a jar filled with Yamuna river water polluted with froth and toxic foam to be used for rituals at the river bank in New Delhi, India. The Yamuna River, like all other holy rivers in India, has been massively polluted for decades now. The river that originates in a glacier in the pristine and unpolluted Himalayas, and flows through Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh before merging with the Ganges River in Allahabad, once used to be the lifeline of the Indian capital. Currently, it is no more than a large, open sewer that is choking with industrial and domestic discharge that includes plastic, flowers and debris and has virtually no aquatic life. EPA Plastic waste across the world: in pictures Plastic waste is washed up on South Troon beach in Scotland. Recent reports by scientists have confirmed, plastics dumped in the world oceans are reaching a dangerous level with micro plastic particles now being found inside filter feeding animals and amongst sand grains on our beaches. Getty Plastic waste across the world: in pictures Children collect plastic to be sold and recycled, in a polluted river in suburban Manila. The city's trash disposal agency traps solid waste floating down waterways that was thrown into the water by residents of slums along riverbanks upstream. AFP/Getty Plastic waste across the world: in pictures View of the Carpayo Beach in La Punta, Callao, some 15 km of Lima. In 2013, the NGO VIDA labeled the Carpayo Beach as the most polluted in the country - 40 tons of trash on each 500m2. AFP/Getty Plastic waste across the world: in pictures Trash from Kamilo Beach in Hawaii. Gabriella Levine/Flickr Plastic waste across the world: in pictures A scavenger collects plastic cups for recycling in a river covered with rubbish near Pluit dam in Jakarta. Reuters Plastic waste across the world: in pictures Rubbish fills Omoa beach in Honduras. Floating masses of garbage offshore from some of the Caribbean's pristine beaches are testimony to a vast and growing problem of plastic pollution heedlessly dumped in our oceans, locals, activists and experts say. AFP/Getty Plastic waste across the world: in pictures A man climbs down to a garbage filled river in Manila. Plastic rubbish will outweigh fish in the oceans by 2050 unless the world takes drastic action to recycle the material, a report warned in 2016. AFP/Getty Plastic waste across the world: in pictures Garbage on East Beach, Henderson Island (Pitcairn Islands), in the south Pacific Ocean. The uninhabited island has been found to have the world's highest density of waste plastic, with more than 3,500 additional pieces of litter washing ashore daily at just one of its beaches. EPA

“Suppliers are working hard to make the bottle clearer – and they already have – in the meantime, our bottles will wear this greyish colour which I see as a ‘badge of honour’ – we are part of the market for recycled products, and we are proud of that,” said Iain Ferguson, Co-op environment manager.

It comes on the heels of a wave of new recycling measures aimed at tackling the scourge of waste and plastic pollution poisoning our waterways and oceans.

On Tuesday, the environment secretary, Michael Gove, announced plans for a recycling deposit scheme for plastic, glass and metal containers which would see consumers get cash back for returning items.

A roll out of free water refill points in every town in England is already underway, in an attempt to prevent the tens of millions of disposable plastic bottles being bought and sent to landfills each year.

The Co-op said these initiatives would simplify and incentivise recycling to the general public, and encourage more retailers to follow suit.

Jo Whitfield, chief executive of Co-op Food, said: “We know that by working closely with our supply and waste-value chains we can find new ways of sourcing sustainable alternatives.

“Our customers expect us to respond to this challenge and help them make more ethical choices, and we’re dedicated to doing just that.”

The new part-recycled plastic bottle has a slight but noticeable cloudy-grey appearance (Co-op)

Other changes include a reduction in black and dark coloured plastics which cannot be picked up by some recycling machines and can lead to contamination of other coloured plastics – adding at least 30,000 tonnes of waste each year.

It is trying to replace the plastic elements in its own brand tea bags, to make them entirely bio-degradable.

Campaigners said the efforts were welcome but there was a “long way to go” for the industry as a whole.

Greenpeace UK oceans campaigner, Tisha Brown, said: “The Co-op’s plans to increase the recycled content of plastic bottles and eliminate plastic that’s harder to recycle are good stepping stones to solving the problem, but there’s still a long way to go.

“UK supermarkets generate an estimated 800,000 tonnes of plastic packaging every year.

“It’s absolutely vital that major retailers up their game by setting out clear plans and deadlines to reduce plastic packaging and adopt sustainable alternatives.”

The current focus of public attention on the harm of single-use plastics can be partly attributed to the finale of the BBC’s Blue Planet series last year, which is being aired in more than 30 countries.