Thank you, Llywydd, and I move the amendments. Even in discussing rubbish, I think we need facts. Generally speaking, Plaid Cymru supports the Government’s efforts to move towards zero waste. Indeed, our policy seeks to speed up that process, because we believe that we can achieve that by 2030 in Wales, and, in so doing, create jobs within the local economy and generate wealth from waste too, because there is always some value to waste.

Some councils in Wales are setting the pace. It’s true to say that Ceredigion is ahead, having reached over 68 per cent of recycling now, almost 10 years ahead of the target of 70 per cent that the Government has for 2025. We can therefore praise councils when they do make progress and say that they are providing a template for other authorities. We can also regret that some councils are not only failing to achieve the targets set by Government, but are taking retrograde steps. Blaenau Gwent, for example, is now recycling 5 per cent less of its waste than was the case four or five years ago, and that is disappointing.

Having said that, it is not Plaid Cymru’s policy that we should have the same collection methods across Wales. The nature of those various areas—and rurality in particular—can mean that we must provide some freedom for local authorities to work together to come up with solutions that are relevant to them but are within the envelope of achieving a zero-waste Wales.

But there is a gap—even given the fact that Wales is performing so well in recycling—in terms of the waste that is going to landfill and non-recyclable waste. That includes waste such polystyrene packaging and styrofoam—something that is banned in some nations now and something that we should consider banning in Wales in earnest. If we don’t have the powers under the new Wales Act, then we should work with other nations within the British Isles and our European partners to ban this kind of packaging.

Plaid Cymru is also strongly of the opinion that there should be a deposit-return scheme for plastic, glass and cans, and we see this in general across Europe, and I see more and more small shops in nations that do espouse these methods than we see in Wales. I therefore don’t believe that this is any sort of barrier to the local economy, but rather will add to the local economy. We can ensure that that is a benefit to shops and customers, as is already the case in Germany, among other nations.

The main problem we have is plastic. Plastic is a kind of fuel; it is oil based. With plastic there is also the issue of microbeads, which is still a problem in our environment. Although we are to ban them from cosmetics over the next year, the impact on our fisheries and our beaches, particularly, is very detrimental. We want to see more done to tackle these kinds of plastics, and to cease using oil-based materials in creating unnecessary packaging, but to use the resource of oil for its main purposes while we have it—for energy and for chemicals that can benefit the economy more widely.

I do think it’s possible, if we were to put in place a deposit-return scheme and a ban on some plastics that can’t be recycled such as polystyrene, and a proposal to ensure that any street food sold should be placed in biodegradable packaging—we could assist the Welsh Government in achieving a zero-waste economy by 2050. Plaid Cymru and the Plaid Cymru amendments are seeking to assist the Government in achieving that.

It’s good to see the Minister back in place in leading on this work, as he did in the previous Government, and this is also an opportunity to wish Lesley Griffiths well and wish her a speedy recovery.