The British government has claimed the UK is taking a lead on tackling plastic waste, but countries from Costa Rica to Rwanda are already on the case.

The latest plans could see plastic straws, drinks stirrers and cotton buds banned from sale in England, and follow on from a 5p levy on plastic bags and proposals for a deposit return scheme to cut plastic bottle waste.

But a number of countries have already implemented or outlined plans to go much further.

Rwanda banned plastic bags more than a decade ago, with travellers facing confiscation of visible bags on arrival at airports, and more recently other African countries including Kenya, Ethiopia and Morocco have followed suit.

Costa Rica has pledged that, by 2021, it will be the first country in the world with a "comprehensive national strategy to eliminate single-use plastics", replacing them with products that biodegrade within six months.

Announcing the strategy last year, officials warned that products ranging from bags still given out by the majority of shops to plastic straws and coffee stirrers, containers and cutlery were polluting the environment for centuries.

A number of Indian states have brought in plastic bag bans, and Maharashtra is implementing a wide-ranging ban on plastics, such as bags, disposable plastic spoons, forks, cups, glasses and containers.

Officials warned that products ranging from bags still given out by the majority of shops, to plastic straws and coffee stirrers, containers and cutlery were polluting the environment for centuries

Another state, Karnataka, has completely banned the use of plastic, including bags, plates, cups, spoons and even tiny particles of plastic known as microbeads.

Closer to home, Ireland's plastic bag levy, which now involves a 22-cent charge on single-use carrier bags to cut use and littering of bags, is more than 15 years old, while Wales brought in its charging system in 2011.

France brought in a full ban on single-use plastic bags in 2016, along with moves to end use of plastic plates and cutlery by 2020.

The UK is not the first country to bring in a ban on microbeads, with the US first to announce such a move, though Britain's restrictions are stronger, with a broader definition of microbeads.

But environmental groups want the ban, which currently only covers rinse-off cosmetic products, to include all personal care and cleaning products to make the UK "truly a world leader" in the fight against ocean plastic pollution.

And there was disappointment when it emerged in a parliamentary hearing on Wednesday that it could be 2020 before a deposit return scheme to boost recycling of drinks containers such as plastic bottles, which countries such as Germany and Norway have had for years, is brought in for England.