I thank the Presiding Officer. Members will be aware that Wales is a world leader in recycling and resource management. It was announced yesterday that we are now second in Europe and third in the world. This is thanks to a comprehensive package of Welsh Government policy and investment and the actions of local government and people across Wales.

The policy of England and Wales has diverged since devolution in 1999. In 1999, Wales recycled 5 per cent of our waste. This was broadly in line with England and Scotland. In the first half of 2016-17, we recycled 62 per cent of our waste. This was significantly better than England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. In England, recycling rates are getting worse and, last year, were under 44 per cent for the first time since 2011.

Today, I want to set out the agenda for building on this position to become the best in the world and to maximise the associated employment, economic and environmental benefits. Wales is on course to meet our 70 per cent recycling target in 2024-25, probably several years ahead of the schedule.

The 70 per cent target is, of course, a milestone on the journey to zero waste by 2050. In preparation for the revised Wales waste strategy in 2018, the Minister will publish shortly a consultation on our direction of travel in waste and recycling. This will include potential consideration of future targets, including setting an 80 per cent recycling target for local authorities.

The waste composition analysis published in June of 2016 shows that almost half of the rubbish people are putting in their residual waste bins is easily recyclable. This includes food waste, paper, card, glass and metals. Llywydd, getting as much recyclable material as possible out of our rubbish bins and putting them into recycling is one of the key objectives of this Government. If everybody put all recyclable material in the recycling instead of the rubbish bins, it would drive up the recycling rate to almost 80 per cent. It would also save local authorities money by avoiding the cost of disposal, and at least some of the materials collected can be sold to earn an income.

In 2015-16, the total spend on waste services by local authorities was at its lowest level since 2009-10 and, over the same period, recycling increased from 41 per cent up to 60 per cent. Higher recycling can contribute to reducing service-delivery costs, as long as the right services are introduced.

We continue to support local authorities to introduce the right kinds of services through the collaborative change programme. Technical support and capital funding is available to local authorities to help them plan and deliver changes where necessary. This exemplifies the benefits of the Welsh Government’s approach to recycling. Through the efforts of our local authorities and residents across the country, we’re reducing the costs, improving the environmental impacts, and increasing economic activity and the number of jobs.

To help achieve our ambition in this area, we are considering a range of other options—improving awareness raising on what can and can’t be recycled, work with people who do not currently recycle to change their behaviour, a more radical approach like deposit-return schemes and additional charges or preventing the use of single-use food and drink containers, and legislating to enable local authorities to encourage residents to put more of their recyclable material into their recycling and not in the rubbish bin. Local authorities have asked us to consider introducing these powers.

As well as higher recycling, we need to focus on waste prevention, Llywydd. Food waste per person is around 9 per cent lower in Wales compared to the average for the UK. Between 2009 and 2015, there was a 12 per cent decrease in the amount of household food waste in Wales.

I want to build on this performance and go further. The Minister has asked her officials to consider how we can drive up food-waste prevention across Wales in the home, in food processing and across the whole supply chain. There have been some calls from stakeholders to ban certain food or drink containers, apply levies, or bring in deposit-return systems for drinks containers. The Minister intends to give due consideration to these issues in the review and refresh of the waste strategy, ‘Towards Zero Waste’.