The announcement follows the success of the 5p charge on plastic bags introduced by government on 5 October 2015, which has seen a reduction in bags used by 85%.

It is estimated that by introducing the same charge on coffee cups it could cut usage by two billion every year.

Two and a half billion disposable cups are thrown away every year which is around seven million every day and only one in 400 are recycled. This is due to many coffee cups containing a polyethylene coating inside the cups which sticks to the paper making them difficult to recycle.

Liberal Democrat Leader, Tim Farron, said: ‘Throwaway cups are a threat to wildlife and the environment and its high time the government stepped in to reduce the amount of waste created each year.

‘I want to see a culture shift towards bringing your own cup for a refill, rather than buying cups which are often non-recyclable and then throwing them away. Liberal Democrats brought in the plastic bag charge and it’s been proven highly successful – coffee cups are the next logical step.’

Liberal Democrat environment spokesperson, Kate Parminter, said: ‘We’ve seen how dramatically a small charge has affected public behaviour when it comes to the plastic bags and it is clearly time to extend it to coffee cups.

‘Most people purchase a tea or coffee and throw away the cup without even thinking about it, but a charge would increase our awareness of the environmental impact.’

The Liberal Democrats will put their beliefs into action by putting a 5p charge on disposable cups for hot drinks purchased at their party conference this month.