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The Scottish government will shortly issue a consultation on "possible legislation" to help reduce food waste and encourage recycling.

A spokeswoman said the consultation, which starts during the summer, will run for 12 weeks and "look closely at what can be done in relation to some key areas, including packaging, food waste and products".

Reports have suggested that supermarkets could be barred from offering buy-one-get-one-free deals on perishable goods such as chickens, pizzas, tomatoes and strawberries, and that a tax could be imposed on disposable goods such as razor blades.

The spokeswoman said the consultation would be on "a number of proposals", but would not be specific.

"There are already powers to introduce producer responsibility and this is in place in areas such as packaging and waste electrical and electronic equipment, which will also be extended to batteries," she said.

"Through the Zero Waste Retailers Group and the Zero Waste Think Tank we are closely engaged with retailers and are keen to work closely with them in the future."

The Scottish government is also funding the Scottish Waste Awareness Group in its 'Love Food Hate Waste' campaign, which wants to see a dramatic reduction in the amount of food thrown away by householders.

The consultation will consider options that could help the Scottish government meet its target for the amount of rubbish sent to landfill to be reduced from current levels of 50% to 5% by 2025.