Thank you, Presiding Officer. I want to draw the attention of the Senedd to a real success story for Wales and how we can build on this success for the future. Wales has achieved the highest municipal recycling rate in the United Kingdom and, if it were to report separately, the fourth highest rate in Europe. I would like to pay tribute to my predecessor, Carl Sargeant, for his contribution towards Wales’s achievements in recycling and resource efficiency and also acknowledge the efforts of Welsh local authorities and the Welsh public in this achievement.

Wales’s municipal recycling rate reached 59 per cent for the 12 months to the end of December 2015 and 58 per cent in quarter 3 of the full year 2015-16. This is up 5 per cent on the same quarter in 2014-15. In the new compositional analysis of municipal waste, published by the Waste and Resources Action Programme today, it is identified that around a quarter of what is in the black bag waste—residual waste—is food waste, and another quarter is dry recyclables. If we could capture even half of this material, we could comfortably achieve our target of 70 per cent recycling of municipal waste. This demonstrates a great advance in sustainable waste management in Wales. However, its real significance is that waste and resource efficiency offers a gateway into the circular economy.

A circular economy is one where materials can be productively used again and again, creating added value and associated multiple benefits. These benefits can help us deliver on many of our well-being goals under the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, especially a prosperous Wales, a resilient Wales and a globally responsible Wales.

A recent study by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and WRAP identified potential economic benefits of more than £2 billion each year to the Welsh economy. A further study by WRAP and the Green Alliance predicts that up to 30,000 new jobs can be created in Wales through development of a circular economy.

Thousands of Welsh workers are employed in supply chain companies, large and small, involved in collection, transportation, reprocessing and remanufacture of materials throughout Wales. Steel, aluminium, paper, cardboard, glass, plastics, textiles and electronic goods can all be recycled, creating jobs and adding value through the circular economy.

We need to make sure as large a quantity of materials as possible is reused within the Welsh circular economy. These materials need to be of high quality to be attractive to local reprocessing companies and command the best prices. In this way, local authorities and householders will be contributing to better environmental and economic outcomes as well as higher recycling.

It is important for Welsh householders to know where the materials collected from them are recycled. A recent report into the end destinations of materials collected for recycling by Welsh local authorities showed less than half, by weight, is recycled in Wales. There is enormous potential to boost the Welsh economy and the number of jobs by reprocessing more of these materials here in Wales.

Therefore, it is my intention as Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs to drive forward policies towards delivering a circular economy in Wales. This will be one of my key priorities and aligns with our work in response to the circular economy package being proposed by the European Commission.

I will explore all necessary mechanisms, including legislation, to require a high content of recycled materials in products procured by the Welsh public sector. I will also explore the use of extended producer responsibility to ensure that producers and retailers share more evenly the burdens of managing waste from households. I will work with Welsh local authorities and the private sector to explore how we achieve these goals. The Welsh Government has recently published the results of a review of the collections blueprint, which confirms the validity of the approach. A revised edition of the blueprint is currently in preparation, and we shall consult on this later this year.

We need to consider the potential benefits of more consistent waste collection services to deliver higher quality feedstock at a lower cost of collection. The success that we have seen is largely due to the clarity and direction of the national waste strategy ‘Towards Zero Waste’ and its supporting sector plans. The municipal sector plan and its collections blueprint provide guidance to local authorities about how they can improve financial, environmental and economic outcomes. I want to continue to work closely with local authorities, the Welsh Local Government Association and other stakeholders in the sector, including business and the third sector, to ensure progress towards our targets is maintained and we develop and deliver effective policies to achieve our wider objectives in this area.

We are making steady progress towards our overall goal of becoming a zero-waste nation by 2050. We stated in our manifesto that we want a carbon-neutral Welsh Government by 2020. The goals are ambitious but achievable and mean, as a nation, we will need to up our game on the broader waste management agenda, not just recycling, to further cut emissions and promote resource efficiency all along the supply chain.

The Welsh Government is committed to a review of the 2010 waste strategy ‘Towards Zero Waste’. We published an interim progress report last year and are currently preparing discussion papers to kick off the debate about what the new strategy should embrace. I shall be bringing these forward to the Senedd and for wider public consultation by the end of this year.

Wales has a proud record on municipal recycling, and the targets that are in place will ensure Wales continues to progress towards having the highest municipal recycling rate in Europe. This will bring extra economic activity, more jobs and better carbon reductions. We must maintain progress and ensure we take every opportunity to contribute towards the goals set out in the well-being of future generations Act. The next few years are going to be very exciting in the field of municipal recycling and resource efficiency, and I’m pleased to have the opportunity to set out this agenda to you today. Thank you.