SCOTLAND'S coffee drinkers face a disposable cup tax under a proposal to be debated at the SNP's annual conference.

The party will consider replicating the 5p charge for plastic bags which was credited with dramatically cutting usage.

Ministers were urged to back the shake-up because of a daily "coffee drinking culture" with disposable cups being thrown into bins and not recycled.

The proposal from SNP MSP Stuart McMillan is on the provisional agenda for the party conference in Glasgow from October 8-10th .

McMillan's resolution states that many coffee shops and fast-food traders sell drinks using "single-use paper laminate or paper/plastic laminate cups".

Scots throw away 208 million disposable coffee cups every year, according to Zero Waste Scotland, an official agency promoting recycling.

McMillan's resolution highlights how some businesses provide an "incentive for customers who bring their own cups to be filled with new coffee and drinks".

However, he said a compulsory scheme was needed to cut use of disposable cups along similar lines to the carrier bag charge. Under the legislation that came into force in 2014 all retailers are forced to charge a minimum of 5p for each new single-use carrier bag

McMillan said: "Plastic bag charges have been successful after being a bit controversial originally. When you consider the coffee drinking culture we have this is very worthwhile pursuing whatever sort of business is involved.

"If you think of the environmental aspect, you have someone walking down the street with a coffee and the cup goes straight into the bin. It's going straight into the bins and isn't being recycled. It's going to landfill, which is a big issue for me as it's harmful to the environment."

The number of plastic bags handed out in stores was slashed by 80 per cent – the equivalent of 650 million carriers – in the first year of Scotland's 5p charge. The charge also raised about £6.7 million for good causes in the first 12 months of its operation.

The Greenock and Inverclyde MSP said he was hopeful the SNP conference would support the proposal, if it appears on the final agenda.

He said: "Even if the resolution fails at SNP conference, at the very least a discussion has been started. Anybody putting a resolution down has to be reasonably hopeful. The 5p plastic bag charge is a very good starting point for this as that model's been successful."

The SNP Lomond North branch has backed McMillan's proposal.

SNP members and branches have until September 1 to propose amendments, after which the party will decide which resolutions will be selected for debate at the party conference.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said ministers welcomed "innovative ideas" to improve Scotland's recycling rates.

The government spokesperson said: “We are committed to ambitious targets to reduce all waste by 15 per cent by 2025.

"We are interested in innovative ideas which could help us tackle the wide range of waste which is produced and ultimately help us achieve this important target, and are working with businesses to consider the best ways to reduce the impact of plastic materials used by consumers.”