Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Thank you, Simon Thomas, and everyone, for taking part in the debate today. The debate has given the Welsh Government the opportunity to update—in fact, the update has been fed back and expressed by Members today. But I think it is important to remind ourselves and put on the record that we published our waste strategy for Wales, ‘Towards Zero Waste’, back in 2010, outlining the actions we must all take if we are to reach our ambition of becoming a high-recycling nation by 2025 and a zero-waste nation by 2050. Our strategy is a pathway towards a so-called circular economy, which all Members have commented on today. That circular economy is one in which we keep resources in use for as long as possible, extract the maximum value from them whilst in use, then recover and regenerate products and materials at the end of the service life. Welsh Government published its waste prevention programme in December 2013. The waste prevention programme supports ‘Towards Zero Waste’ by describing the outcomes, policies, targets and work programme to address waste prevention in Wales.

Tackling waste is a big success story for Wales, and one that we should all be proud of. We have the highest municipal recycling rates in the UK and, according to an independent study, the second highest rates in Europe, and the third highest in the world. Now, in 2017, the Welsh Government has set its course to be the world leader in municipal recycling. The overall economic benefits to the Welsh economy of our waste strategy are enormous. For example, research carried out by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation projects benefits to Wales of achieving a circular economy of over £2 billion each year.

On food and drink packaging, it’s important to be clear that one of the primary purposes of the packaging is to protect the product from damage and wastage, including extending its shelf life. ‘Towards Zero Waste’ is currently being evaluated and will be refreshed to increase opportunities for the private and public sector to maximise financial, social and environmental benefits as a result of adopting changes in practices under the banner of a circular economy and resource efficiency. We will consult on the revisions to the waste strategy in a formal consultation in 2018. As part of the consultation process, the Welsh Government will have a comprehensive engagement with food producers, retailers and other stakeholders in respect of extended producer responsibility. This means making sure that they take a greater financial responsibility for the collection and management of waste that results from the products and packaging.

Recently there’s been significant interest following the media coverage on litter, plastic bottle recycling and recycling of coffee cups. The Welsh Government has a programme of work in place to tackle specifically these issues. For example, for many years funding has been provided by Welsh Government for the Waste and Resources Action Programme, WRAP, to work with the food industry and grocery retailers to reduce excess packaging. WRAP Cymru has also worked with the food service industry to deliver packaging waste prevention and increase recycling.

We’re about to commission a study to research options in relation to outcomes related to resource efficiency, including waste prevention, reuse and recycling, and to reduce litter under an extended producer responsibility approach. As part of this study, we will consider how a deposit-return scheme might impact on existing local authority schemes used to collect and manage the waste we produce in Wales. We must also take into account the associated environmental, financial, social, cultural and well-being impact on the people of Wales when making our decisions under the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015. We will examine this research as part of our review and update of our waste strategy, ‘Towards Zero Waste’.

Simon Thomas, in bringing this forward today for debate, and Members, have spoken powerfully about the adverse impacts of waste, particularly on the marine environment, but also about the opportunities for Wales to continue to lead the way in its waste strategy policy. In considering this legislative proposal, as I’ve already said, we have a waste strategy and waste prevention programme in place for Wales, but we’re also committed to delivering approaches to address waste packaging. Any Bill brought forward now would need to be assessed for Assembly legislative competence under the provisions of the Wales Act 2017. Legislation regarding products is a complex area, and until we know in detail what might be proposed under the proposed Bill, we can’t be sure whether it is within the legislative competence of the National Assembly or not. On this basis, the Government will be abstaining on this proposal, but we commend the intentions of the outcomes the proposal for a Bill seeks to address, in relation to waste production, as it resonates with the strides that we’ve made through our waste strategy, ‘Towards Zero Waste’, and in our pathway to achieving a more circular economy in Wales.