<p>Questions Without Notice from Party Spokespeople</p>

Part of 1. 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs – in the Senedd at 1:43 pm on 20 September 2017.

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Photo of Mr Simon Thomas Mr Simon Thomas Plaid Cymru 1:43, 20 September 2017

Diolch, Llywydd. I hope the Cabinet Secretary did get a little break over the summer and, if she did, that she had some time on a beach. If she did, then she would have noticed the plastic that we have on our beaches these days. I think she had the chance, as I did, to meet the eXXpedition female sailing crew, who were sailing around the UK over the summer—or around Britain actually, not the UK, as sailing around the UK is quite difficult—sailing around Britain over the summer. They came to Cardiff and were highlighting plastic in our seas as well. If she did meet them, she will know that they were strongly in support of a deposit-return scheme. She’ll also know that the Scottish Government announced in August that they were interested in a deposit-return scheme for Scotland, and Zero Waste Scotland, for example, estimates that, in the Scottish circumstances, just on litter clearance alone, a deposit-return scheme could save between £3 million and £6 million. So, does the Cabinet Secretary now agree with me that it’s time to introduce, at the very least, a pilot deposit-return scheme here in Wales?