A tax on plastic packaging which has less than 30 per cent recycled content would cost British households just 7p per week, a study by Imperial College has found.

Earlier this year Michael Gove, the former Environment Secretary, outlined plans to penalise companies who continue to use virgin material.

Critics have been concerned that the cost of such a tax would end up being passed on to consumers through higher prices on items such as bottles, crisp packets and cling film.

But a new study by Imperial and waste management company Veolia found that just pennies would be added to the weekly bill of households if such a tax was imposed, and passed on to customers.

Currently it is far cheaper for companies to buy virgin plastic than recycled plastic because it does not need to be treated.

But Imperial College calculated that the government would need to impose an extra £150 per tonne on the current cost of £1,000 a tonne for virgin plastic, to make it more cost effective to buy recycled material.

That would add 16p to a household weekly bill if passed to the consumer. But according to the British Plastics Federation, 55 per cent of plastic already contains 30 per cent recycled material, bringing the cost down to just 7p.