Part of 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Planning and Rural Affairs – in the Senedd at 1:38 pm on 17 January 2018.
Minister, every year, more than 8 million tonnes of plastic ends up in our oceans, costing at least £6.2 billion in damage to marine ecosystems and killing an estimated 1 million seabirds, 100,000 sea mammals and untold numbers of fish. Supermarkets use ridiculous amounts of unnecessary plastic packaging, simply adding to the problem. Wales led the way on single-use carrier bags. Let's lead the way in tackling the issue of unnecessary plastic packaging. Minister, what discussions have you had with major supermarkets about the use of plastic packaging, and will you consider legislation if major retailers fail to voluntarily reduce the amount of plastic packaging?