Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:16 pm on 23 October 2018.
I thank the Member for her contribution. I was really pleased to come and visit Rhiwbina on what was a very sunny day, actually, when I came to visit. I've spent quite a bit of time over the past few months visiting those communities the length and breadth of Wales who are taking action to reduce single-use plastic. Because you're absolutely right that, yes, there's a role for Government to legislate and set the policy agenda, but we can only really get where we want to, as we've seen with recycling at the kerbside, if you've got that cultural public change as well. And I think it's really important that we act now to embrace that public opinion that's out there on this issue, but make sure that we act in a way that isn't piecemeal, but is holistic and looks at all the things I've said today in the statement in terms of our infrastructure, producer responsibility, in terms of the packaging you talked about, how we cut down on unnecessary food packaging, or how we move to packaging that actually has more recycled content or is more able to be reused, and also the role of a deposit-return scheme as part of that. And, yes, you're right that new recycling is one part of the jigsaw in terms of how we get where we want to get.
One of the things I think you said at the end there, which is absolutely key, is the role that children have to play, because we've got a really wide spread of eco-schools now across the country, and I'm keen that these eco-schools are central to our behaviour change campaign going forward, not just within their own schools, but within the wider community and the wider country too. Because I think the message coming from those children will be far, far stronger in terms of the impact that that can have than from any of us on these benches, from any politicians, or even from many parents. Because that pester power, where I've been in schools, and the children, they've no loyalty—they'll dob their parents in if they're not separating their recycling content as they should do, and then they'll go home and tell their guardians or their parents what they should be doing. So, I'm absolutely keen to actually involve children as much as we can in that campaign and to get the message across that it's our future and you need to help not only to secure it, but to sustain it.