Item 7 is the Environmental Protection (Microbeads) (Wales) Regulations 2018, and I call on the Minister for Environment to introduce the regulations—Hannah Blythyn.

Motion NDM6742 Julie James

To propose that the National Assembly for Wales:

Approves that the draft The Environmental Protection (Microbeads) (Wales) Regulations 2018 is made in accordance with the draft laid in the Table Office on 18 May 2018.

Motion moved.

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. The regulations that have been laid before the Assembly for your consideration today are the Environmental Protection (Microbeads) (Wales) Regulations 2018. These regulations have been introduced under powers contained in the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and the Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act 2008. Under these regulations it will be an offence in Wales, from 30 June 2018 onwards, for anyone to manufacture any rinse-off personal care products that use plastic microbeads as an ingredient. It will also be on offence in Wales from that date to supply or offer to supply any rinse-off personal care products that contain plastic microbeads.

Welsh local authorities will be responsible for enforcing these regulations, and this enforcement role will be carried out in line with the published guidance. These regulations introduce an enforcement regime that includes civil and criminal sanctions, such as variable monetary penalties, compliance notices and stop notices. Civil sanctions provide flexibility and allow local authorities, when enforcing the ban, to distinguish between those who are striving to comply and those who disregard the law. These regulations provide for anyone who has a civil sanction imposed on them to appeal to the first-tier tribunal.

I met with marine stakeholders on 7 June, who impressed on me how important this ban is, and through our public consultation exercise, the introduction of this ban received widespread support. Deputy Presiding Officer, I commend these regulations to the National Assembly.

Can I say we are very keen to support these regulations that ban microbeads from personal hygiene products? These regulations have already been passed, and indeed they come into effect today in England and Scotland. So, we're pleased to see the Welsh Government following that course of action. So, at least, in the UK, we'll have a consistent approach.

I do believe this is a welcome and significant step, but it is only the first step. We need a shift in public policy towards the responsible use of plastic products and the banning of single-use plastic products. The condition of our watercourses: we heard evidence in the climate change committee only a couple of weeks ago, from a leading academic in Cardiff University, about the level of plastic pollution that is now being recorded in the sampling of Welsh rivers, and then getting into the animals. As far as our seas are concerned, the amount of plastic material that is entering—and a lot of it enters via wash-off, and also from fibres that are washed out of clothes as well—there's so much work we're going to have to do, but, of course, every significant journey requires the first step. I do think that one of the most remarkable changes in the last couple of years is how the public now are really pushing us, and we need to be imaginative in how we use regulations and our changes in law to deliver the quality environment that people deserve and future generations deserve. So, we are keen to support today's regulations.

Plaid Cymru will also support these regulations today. It's important to say, however, that we are of the view that we should go further in terms of controlling plastics of all types—micro and macro. These are regulations, as has been said already, which relate to materials that are washed off the body, used for personal hygiene products, but that leaves a number of other products—sun cream, for example—where one could still include these microbeads. It's estimated that between 4,000 and 7,500 tonnes of these microplastics are used every annum in the European Union. So, it is a task to get to grips with this plastic. It will start with regulations such as these, but, in my view, it will have to include a broader ban on microplastics, including those in domestic cleaning products, and so on. We are still calling for a levy on single-use plastics, and of course the possibility of a deposit-return scheme is something that should be welcomed, too.

Yesterday, I visited another shop—there are a number of plastic-free shops developing across Wales, which shows that the public is ahead of the politicians, because if businesses are pursuing customers, then, clearly, people are interested in this area. This shop, La Vida Verde in Llandrindod Wells, has the old pop bottles with a 30p deposit on them. So, you’ll get 30p back when you take your bottle back, which isn’t enough inflation, in my opinion. I think it was 5p when I was going through the gullies for the pop bottles many years ago. But it does demonstrate that people are ready for this change.

It’s also true to say that although we have good recycling rates in Wales, only 44 per cent of the 35 million plastic bottles that are bought every day—that’s every day, which is almost a plastic bottle for every adult—only 44 per cent of those are recycled, and a deposit-return scheme could be used to increase that to almost 80 per cent in that area. So, we look forward to hearing more about the discussions happening between the Government here and the Government in Westminster in terms of introducing a scheme of that kind.

David Melding mentioned the research at Cardiff University on these microplastics in the environment, which is staggering research, if truth be told. I just want to quote from that. We heard from Professor Steve Ormerod about research on the Irwell river in Manchester, where 0.5 million pieces of microplastic were found for every square metre—that's 0.5 million per square metre. Further research at Cardiff in the river Taff shows that microplastics are entering the food chain and are being found in birds that have been laid by eggs—or rather eggs laid by birds, I should say.

Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

I almost answered that question myself there. These are the eggs laid by birds, which demonstrates that we in Wales have the highest level of microplastics in the eggs themselves—we are talking about very, very small microplastics here, but these are appearing in the eggs, and it’s the highest level in western Europe. This just shows that this is permeating through our water systems and our food chain, and it’s having an impact. Every time these microplastics travel, they can carry pollution, disease and germs, they can carry all sorts of other things with them, which can then be found in people and in wildlife too.

I understand that these regulations relate to microbeads—something that we specifically place in products—and much of the research talks about microplastics emerging from plastic that breaks down over a period of time and becomes microplastic, but it is true to say that we have to tackle in every way possible this unnecessary plastic. That’s the important point: it is unnecessary plastic. You can keep yourself clean without plastic. I think that’s a very strong message conveyed in passing these regulations this afternoon.

Thank you very much. I call on the Minister for Environment to reply to the debate.

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I'd like to thank both David Melding and Simon Thomas for their contributions to this debate, and for the support shown right across the Chamber for the microbeads ban. The ban is designed to protect the marine environment from further pollution, foster consumer confidence in the products they buy, will not harm the environment, and will support businesses by setting a level playing field.

The Llywydd took the Chair.

On 5 June, at the Volvo Ocean summit, I was proud to sign the UN environment clean seas plastics pledge on behalf of the Welsh Government. The introduction of this microbeads ban legislation supports this pledge and is part of a wider package of actions already under way by the Welsh Government, and through partnership working, to reduce levels of plastic pollution entering our seas and oceans.

Both David Melding and Simon Thomas were absolutely right to point out that, as we welcome this legislation, it is just one step on the road to phasing out single-use and unnecessary plastics. I think, Simon, you particularly touched on microbeads in other products and also microplastics. In terms of other products, we are looking at a UK level to inform our approach to reducing pollution from microbeads in other products and gathering that evidence on the environmental impacts to inform further action to reduce the use of products containing microbeads.

Microplastics is another issue that is there on the horizon that is getting quite a bit of attention and I've asked officials to do some work on that, with a view to advising me on what we could and should be doing on that issue. Like you said, this is just one step, one piece of a very large jigsaw that we need to put together to take the action that we need. We were talking about startling figures and during the Volvo Ocean Race, the figure I learnt from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation was that if we don't take action on plastics, there'll be more plastic than fish in the oceans by 2050. That is a truly startling statistic.

So, as I said, we are committed to taking forward action on our route-map to tackle plastics. We're not only looking at actually increasing recycling and phasing out single-use plastics, but we're actually looking in terms of recycled content, the value of it, and the design of manufactured products within Wales, coupled with the work we're doing in terms of a tax on single-use plastic and the DRS scheme, which I hope to update Members on shortly in this place, and also the possibility for what we could take forward on a Wales-wide basis too. I've always said I'll give consideration to a tax, levy or charge on single-use beverage containers. So, it's one step in a whole suite of measures to tackle the scourge of unnecessary and single-use plastics. 

So, to conclude, Llywydd, I welcome the support of Assembly Members to move to approve these regulations. Diolch yn fawr. 

The proposal is to agree the motion. Does any Member object? The motion is therefore agreed, in accordance with Standing Order 12.36.

Motion agreed in accordance with Standing Order 12.36.