Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:10 pm on 23 October 2018.
Diolch. The Member raises the issue of enforcement and potential negative consequences with potentially increased fly-tipping. I'm not aware of any evidence of that. But one thing I would say is that I would go back to emphasise the importance of what I said in the statement about working with the public when it comes to behaviour change campaigns. When we talk about enforcement, we are talking about perhaps communication and education, rather than necessarily penalising people in the first instance. I know that it has worked in communities where face-to-face contact has made a huge difference in terms of talking people through what goes in your recycling, and why we're doing it, and how that cuts down your residual waste bin. We know that 50 per cent of the waste in our residual waste bins could be recycled, and half of that is probably food waste as well. So, if it was going into the correct bins and being taken in the weekly food waste collection, that would obviously cut down on any other concerns and issues.
You are right to say that the problem with plastic is not a problem specific to Wales. It's not just a problem specific to the UK. It is a global phenomenon, and there's a global awareness of it now, as you pointed out. I think it's important for us to emphasise that we are starting from—. You know, we face similar challenges, but we are starting from a different vantage point, in terms of where we are and the plastic that we currently recycle. As I said before, it's about making sure that we are not just talking about the products at the end of life, but at the start of life, and what has gone into that packaging, which is why working on extended producer regulation and strengthening that so that the producer pays more towards that cost and takes more of a responsibility is important if we are going to tackle this problem of plastic pollution. As I said before, and I wish to reiterate again, we are looking at a UK approach as things stand, but should that not go forward, then we are committed to using all levers at our disposal.