Part of 1. 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:09 pm on 15 November 2016.
I think Wales has an excellent story to tell, and our very modest levy on plastic bags has had an unbelievable impact in terms of 70 per cent reduction of plastic bag use. The focus of the European week is on reducing the amount of wasteful packaging, and we know from Plastics Europe, which is a trade association for plastics manufacturers, that about two thirds of the plastic used each year in the UK is on packaging. Now, the German Government introduced legislation on this in 1996, which compelled manufacturing companies to redesign wasteful packaging out of their processes to avoid waste, and Germany is now the top European nation for recycling: 70 per cent of the waste generated is successfully recovered and reused each year. What do you think Wales could do to follow the example of Germany, as we know that people in our community rail against the fact that there is so much unnecessary plastic wrapped up in whatever they purchase?