Diolch, Llywydd. Can I start by thanking Members for bringing forward this debate and everyone that's contributed? Nothing screams Christmas more like a debate on sewer blockages, but, in all seriousness, though, we know that a significant rise in the use of wet wipes and other hygiene products in recent years has resulted in an increase in the flushing of such items down the toilet, where they end up in the public sewer network, causing the blockages and problems that we've discussed here this afternoon.

No matter what it does say on the packaging, most of our personal healthcare and beauty products should not be disposed of down the toilet. Wipes and other so-called 'disposable' products are the main cause of sewer blockages and emergency call-outs to sewage pumping stations. The results are often, as we talked about today, costly in maintenance, repairs, flooding and environmental pollution. More than three quarters, 80 per cent, of sewer flooding in England and Wales is due to blockages in sewers and blocked sewers, costing Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water around £7 million per year. And Gareth Bennett mentioned the fatberg that Dŵr Cymru have been dealing with just around the corner in Mermaid Quay as an example of what can happen.

To help improve the resilience of the sewer system, the twenty-first century drainage programme, supported by Welsh Government and made up of over 40 organisations, developed a framework for drainage and wastewater management plans. These plans will provide the basis to more collaborative and integrated long-term planning by companies relating to sewerage, drainage, flooding and protection of the environment. Water and sewage undertakers have agreed to prepare a pilot drainage and wastewater management plan by 2022, and we will encourage them to include robust approaches to increase the resilience of the sewerage system against any blockages.

But, as we've discussed today, part of the challenge is awareness and around educating the public on what not to put down the toilet or drains. The twenty-first century drainage programme recognises that a change in behaviour is needed to reduce blockages and pollution, including raising public awareness about the most environmentally friendly types of hygiene products and how to correctly dispose of them. Water companies themselves recommend only flushing the 'three Ps' down the toilet. That is: pee, paper and poo.

A recent campaign to improve public awareness and stop—I'm glad people sniggered. [Laughter.] A recent campaign to improve public awareness was 'Let's Stop the Block' by Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water. Much of these targeted messages are needed if we are to see a difference, and one of these campaigns I experienced when I was—. They showed an eco-summit during the Volvo Ocean Race and it was aimed at secondary school students and it was aimed at educating them what you can and can't put down the toilet, and they'd done it in a way that the toilet was the desirable nightclub that everybody wanted to get into and the bin was the less desirable nightclub. But I won't go into detail of what was let in each nightclub at this point, but you can watch it online, if you want to see.

The Water UK wipes and blockage study recommended that polyethylene and polyethylene fibres should not be included in any product labelled as 'flushable' and there should be requirement to clearly display the 'Do not flush' logo on the front of packs of all non-flushable wipes. However, more work needs to be done with the industry, such as a recognised test to determine whether or not a product is truly flushable. 

I support the principle of legislating to implement the changes needed in this area if necessary, feasible and appropriate. Extended producer responsibility is a means of addressing this through producers bearing the full net cost of the end-of-life management of the product and its packaging. It can be used to drive up recycling rates, promote the use of recyclable materials, and, to some extent, to pay for litter clean-ups. Llyr Gruffydd, regarding your contribution that the European Commission is currently considering including a requirement to extend EPR for wet wipes plus a range of other non-packaging items and the proposed directive on single-use plastics—it's a complex area and it would be premature to take this forward until the directive is made at this stage, but, clearly, it's something that we can revisit and look into in the future.

Members will be aware that the Welsh Government is considering the potential for a disposable plastics tax as part of its work to develop new taxation powers. The Cabinet Secretary for Finance held an Assembly debate last year to begin a national conversation about the opportunities that new taxes might provide for Wales and announced his intention to test the Wales Act powers with a vacant land tax proposal, while considering options around possible disposable plastic taxes. The Welsh Government is now assessing the detail of the UK Government's approach to possible single-use plastics taxation measures to consider the best way forward for us. It's important that the Welsh Government continues to play a part in the processes of engagement, policy development and the implementation for any taxation measures in this area. Any new tax proposal would need to go through the same process as the vacant land tax proposal, where we need the permission of both the Houses of Parliament and the UK Government. In seeking the devolution of the necessary powers, we would need, for the potential of such a tax, to help achieve our ambitions for Wales. However, taxes are not the only solution and not a panacea; they're part of a wider landscape of regulatory and other levers being considered to change behaviours, and they're not the only option for making improvements on the issues created by plastic waste.

As the amendment recommends, we will continue to explore the potential for disposable plastics taxes, and, most importantly, what will be central to the approach taken in Wales will be to ensure that the right steps are taken on improving Wales's role in leading the waste agenda. The Welsh Government is concerned about the environmental damage caused by wet wipes and cotton buds and welcomes the Water UK report. More detailed work needs to be done to explore legislative options that can be taken forward by the National Assembly to address this problem in Wales. The Welsh Government will be taking this forward next year and working with the UK Government and the water industry to develop practical options to flush this out.