Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I’d like to thank Huw Irranca-Davies for bringing this short debate forward and Caroline Jones and Suzy Davies for their contributions.

The way that society manages waste has changed radically over the last 20 years, and this has had implications for people, the environment and regulation. As waste has been diverted away from landfill and up the waste hierarchy, there have been significant environmental benefits, but it has also brought some environmental risks. We now have less reliance on landfill, we have more waste being separately collected, recycled and recovered, with many more sites sorting and processing waste before it is sent for treatment and disposal.

These sites are an integral part of the infrastructure that we need to manage our waste, and when waste companies and sites operate well they have a positive benefit on the environment, businesses and society as a whole. They help to preserve precious resources, create jobs and move Wales towards a more circular economy.

Most of the waste industry does operate responsibly, and with the changes in waste management a number of operators, many new to the industry, may need to better understand the regulatory requirements and precautions for managing waste. There is also a small part of the industry that fails to meet the required standards of, or operates outside the law, and we do need to take strong action to prevent these from operating and to remove them from the industry.

We know from our discussions with the Environmental Services Association and their UK report on waste crime that illegal activity is costing around £569 million a year and undermining legitimate business. More importantly, these activities are damaging our environment and harming our communities, and I commend the people of Heol-y-cyw for the way they’ve coped with the incident. I also think I should mention the three local councillors that Huw Irranca-Davies also mentioned—Alex Owen, Martyn Jones and Gary Thomas—for the way they’ve worked with the emergency services and regulators, and supported their constituents and communities.

We do have a dual regulatory regime for authorising waste activities. The local authority planning regime controls the development and use of land, imposing requirements on a developer to control traffic movement, noise and other impacts on the local environment and community. This is complemented by the environmental permitting regime, which protects the environment and human health by controlling the day-to-day operations at a site. Most waste operators are required to have an environmental permit issued by Natural Resources Wales. Some smaller low-risk activities can be registered as exempt from permitting, but in both permitted and exempt cases conditions are set with which operators must comply in the running of their operations. These conditions include controls on the types and quantities of waste that can be handled, the height and spacing of stockpiles and the fire precautions to minimise risk of fire.

NRW is responsible for the day-to-day regulation of sites and for taking actions against those who fail to meet the required standards or who operate outside the law. They have powers to stop offending, control and to clean up sites, and to deter or punish criminal activity. In carrying out their regulatory duties, NRW inspect and audit sites to check for compliance. Enforcement is achieved through working with operators and, where necessary, serving compliance or enforcement notices, or issuing stop and suspension notices. They also have the ability to vary or revoke a permit.

I support and encourage organisations to work together to tackle these issues. NRW have been working with the Wales fire and rescue services to identify high-risk sites and to target regulation at these sites. In May of this year, they jointly published guidance on fire prevention and mitigation. This guidance is being used to modify permits and develop fire prevention requirements for new permits.

NRW have also been working with Bridgend County Borough Council and continue to jointly monitor the illegal storage of woodchip at the former Llynfi valley power station. South Wales Wood Recycling Ltd operates a number of sites. They have two permitted facilities for the storage of waste wood where fires have occurred. NRW are currently investigating the company and taking legal action. To avoid prejudicing this action, Deputy Presiding Officer, I’m unable to comment on the specific activities of the company. I do recognise the serious concerns about poorly performing sites and the need to ensure sites are well operated and regulated.

I’ve been working with NRW to strengthen their enforcement powers to tackle waste crime and poor performance in the waste industry. Last year, we introduced powers to make it easier for the regulator to suspend permits and to take steps to remove a risk of serious pollution. We’ve introduced powers to make it easier for NRW to make an application to the High Court for an injunction to enforce compliance with enforcement and suspension notices.

I’ll be introducing more new powers to enable the regulator to take strong action to stop criminals. I’ll provide powers to NRW to lock the gates of a site, to physically stop access and prevent more waste coming into the site. Those who unlawfully keep or allow waste to be kept on their land will be made responsible for removal of waste from that land. I will review provisions for a new fit-and-proper-person test, to ensure operators are competent and financially secure to run facilities.

I will also be consulting early next year on a review of the exemption regime. This will look closely at the storage of flammable materials and provide further improvements to tighten the regulatory regime. I’m looking very seriously at the possibility of providing civil sanctions, such as variable monetary penalties and enforcement undertakings, to sit alongside the criminal sanctions within the permitting regime. I will raise this matter with NRW and consider how we can take this forward. The Welsh Government is looking to introduce the landfill disposals tax Bill in April 2018. Proposals in the Bill will require the payment of tax on illegal deposits, which will provide a further strong deterrent against illegal activity.

The justice system is a reserved matter, therefore I do not have the powers to amend financial penalties for breaches of planning and environmental permits. However, in general, waste legislation already does carry the maximum penalty. On indictment, this can mean an unlimited fine or a sentence of up to two years in prison. Whilst, historically, the level of fines imposed by courts has been low, and may not have acted as an adequate deterrent or penalty, in 2014, guidelines on the sentencing of environmental offences were issued to criminal courts by the Sentencing Council. For the first time, a tariff has been provided to indicate the appropriate level of penalties, dependent upon the seriousness of the offence and the turnover and profit of the organisation involved. This sentencing guideline has already had a marked impact on the sentencing of waste offences. For more serious cases of illegal activity, NRW consider using the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to recover money made illegally. They’ve had some success in using these powers, which act as both a strong penalty and deterrent to other offenders.

I do agree that more needs to be done to improve the performance of the sector and to remove the rogue element from the industry. I will continue to consider the options to strengthen regulatory action with NRW and the industry to ensure this happens. I am, of course, happy to meet with Huw Irranca-Davies to discuss his ideas in more detail, and I hope the legislative changes that I have outlined, and the action that I’ve taken, will reassure Members present and all constituents that I am tackling this matter. I will also ensure that the points that you’ve all raised are taken up with NRW and update the Member when we meet. Thank you.