EVERY person in Scotland is to be offered a green loyalty card which will reward them for making purchases that help the environment.

The Scottish executive is behind the scheme, which ministers hope will offer an incentive to consumers to choose products that cut waste and reduce carbon emissions.

Those who buy energy efficient fridges, washing machines and light bulbs will earn bonus points. Purchases of eco-friendly cleaning products, fair-trade goods, bicycles, second-hand goods and insulation will also be rewarded.

The points will be redeemable on public transport and at local authority run theatres, museums, community and sports centres.

In the Netherlands, similar schemes have successfully run in Rotterdam and Amsterdam for the past four years. A year after its launch, a scheme in Rotterdam had 10,000 cardholders, with 86% earning their points through recycling.

The proposals have been welcomed by local authorities and retailers in Scotland, who say they are keen to participate.

The scheme is one of a number of new policy ideas being proposed in the run-up to next year’s Scottish election when the environment is expected to be a key battleground.

The Liberal Democrats are promising a £20m investment in new cycle routes and lanes as well as a network of storage areas and workshops for cyclists in towns and cities. The centres, based on a £50,000 model in Bristol, would have space for about 100 bicycles each and provide secure cycle storage, lockers, showers, changing rooms, plus maintenance and repair services.

The idea follows on from a bottle deposit scheme, aimed at improving recycling rates, which the LibDems announced earlier this summer.

The Scottish National party is pledging more recycling plants, while the Scottish Conservatives plan to impose penalties for businesses that produce excess CO2 emissions; and to introduce grants for companies to install solar panels and wind turbines.

Ministers are examining the responses they have received on the green loyalty card idea before deciding how best to implement it.

But even if Labour is not returned to government next year, the LibDems, which are likely to form a coalition with either Labour or the Scottish National party, are set to include the card scheme in their election manifesto.