Could I just say that the Welsh Conservative group has no objection in principle to what Simon is intending to do, or would do if he got the opportunity to introduce a Bill here? However, we do think the practicalities play very heavily and need to be fully considered, and, in fairness, he did refer to them in his speech.

But we do start from the concept of the circular economy. I think we’re much more aware, now, of the impact we have in terms of how we wrap our products and how we consume the goods that we rely on so much. As many people have said, you’ve only got to walk on a beach anywhere, really, in the world, now, to realise the impact. I think, in the last 20 years or so, there’s been a huge shift, also, in public support and the demand the public have for policies that effectively meet these environmental demands.

I think we should remember that Wales does have a good suite of recycling polices at the moment, and we start from a high base. Whatever we do, we obviously want to preserve those achievements. I think any deposit scheme, in particular, would have to be very carefully thought through, so that we would be convinced that it really would take us a lot further than we can get just with the existing policies.

Some of the issues that have been raised with me—I don’t think they’re insuperable, but they obviously will need to be addressed. The existing infrastructure could be affected by a poorly designed scheme. You can end up with a clumsy policy that encourages people to make extra journeys to the supermarket, or whatever, to return bottles and other items. So, I think that needs to be considered. Also, many people, especially vulnerable people, have their groceries delivered—how that is incorporated into any deposit scheme. As I said, I don’t think they are insuperable, but they are knotty problems and they need to be addressed. I also think that the implications of any radical shift from kerbside, which has been hugely successful, to bring-to-store schemes, or whatever model is suggested, needs careful thought.

On food packaging, I think Wales and the UK need to get our act together, and I think a lot of us have just been depressed, on occasion, by the sheer quantity of material wrapping essential goods. That can’t be a great model and we need to move away from it. I’ve heard stories of outraged German consumers just tearing superfluous packaging off their products before they get to the till. I’m not recommending that, but I do think it shows you that there is a public mood for going even further here. So, we wish him well and we will look at anything that eventually comes to us very seriously.