Sky is to invest £25 million in new ideas and businesses that can help solve the ocean plastic crisis.

It has launched the Sky Ocean Ventures, with the aim of backing innovators and businesses developing alternatives to plastic bottles and bags, different materials to synthetic clothing fibres and inventions to help people recycle at home.

It is also launching Innovators in Residence, an incubator project that will offer firms the opportunity to pilot and test their products at Sky’s London campus.

The news follows the government’s announcement to introduce a deposit return scheme for single-use bottles, subject to consultation later this year.