5. Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Planning and Rural Affairs: The Food and Drink Industry

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:48 pm on 23 January 2018.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Joyce Watson Joyce Watson Labour 4:48, 23 January 2018

I want to welcome the report today. It's fairly clear that the Welsh Government is supporting the food and drink industry in every which way that it can by promoting the product, the manufacturing and supporting the staff. But I particularly want to ask you, Cabinet Secretary, whether we could do considerably more in promoting the Welsh food product and aligning it with reduced wastage in single-use plastic.

I think that there is a huge appetite—pun intended—for reduced waste in food production. And I think the moment is now and I think that we really need to seize it. There are initiatives happening to sell Wales as a country where we want to reduce waste, and one of those that are emerging is quite impressive, and that's in Aberporth, in Ceredigion, where they are fairly determined to reduce all plastic in their food products, because the single-use waste of plastic resides mostly within the food industry. I asked you, I think it was last week, a question on the opportunities that we might take, because Japan is no longer going to take the huge amount of waste—I think it was over 4,000 tonnes per year from Wales in recyclable material. So, here I see an opportunity where Wales could not only lead the way, as it has in recycling, but also in taking that as an opportunity to link that with, as I've said, the real move towards reducing single-use plastic within the food industry. I think that it would be hugely advantageous for everybody if you could, somehow, when you're giving funds to promote food production, also, at the same time, offer some incentives to promote reduced packaging going forward. Because we don't export everything that we produce; we consume considerable amounts here in Wales. I really do feel that this is an opportunity that we ought to take here and now.

I think, when we read about—I'm sure people have here—the 'ditch the straw' campaign, which is about ditching plastic straws—. That was started and originated by a nine-year-old boy from the United States taking that forward. I think we could all do very well to follow that example.

Finally, I think that it would be advantageous if you could use any influence whatsoever on supermarkets, where they're selling Welsh produce, not to put out alongside the fresh produce single-use plastic bags, but maybe to think about offering paper bags that people could put that fresh produce in, if they feel they have to, so, therefore, immediately helping to put those two things alongside each other.