The New South Wales Government will refund 10 cents for cans and containers under a new recycling scheme.

The Container Deposits Scheme (CDS) was first raised in pre-election promises, but it was quickly condemned by the furious lobbying of the beverage industry.

“This is an historical day for NSW,” Premier Mike Baird said in a joint press conference alongside the NSW Environment Minister, the founder of Clean Up Australia, and a spokesperson from Coca-Cola Amatil.

“Never before has there been an attack on litter like we are undertaking today,” Mr Baird said.

The Premier wants to reduce litter by 40 per cent by 2020.

The NSW scheme closely matches one that has been running in South Australia for years.

“It's about time that NSW took leadership on this issue,” Mr Baird said.

Consumers will be able to take eligible empty drink containers to a collection depot or reverse vending machines to receive a 10 cent refund.

The NSW Environment Department says “most” drink containers between 150 millilitres and 3 litres would be eligible.

The drinks’ suppliers will decide how much of the cost to pass on to consumers.

Environment Minister Mark Speakman said the CDS had come around from “years and years” of stakeholder participation.

“We know that 160 million containers end up in litter in NSW. We are determined to drive that down,” he said.

Coca-Cola Amatil’s Jeff Maguire cautiously welcomed the scheme.

“[It’s] low cost, and efficient and effective for NSW going forward,” he said.