Glass soda bottles could be worse for the environment than plastic, the world's biggest drinks manufacturer has warned, as the UK's anti-plastic drive has seen more glass bottles sold.

Coca Cola said it had seen a 14 per cent increase in the distribution of glass bottles over the past year, which are increasingly seen as a trendy and more environmentally friendly alternative to plastic bottles.

But despite this common view, a spokesman for Coca Cola warned that glass may not be less damaging to the environment than plastic, as it is much heavier, and therefore has a much larger carbon footprint. Carbon dioxide is one of the gasses which scientists have found to be behind global warming.

He added that all its packaging materials are 100 per cent recyclable – so whether consumers choose to buy a plastic bottle, can or glass, all of these can be recycled.