Plastic pollution and littering from flushed wipes are on the rise. Last year, the Marine Conservation Society recorded that over 14 wet wipes were found per 100 metres of coastline, a rise of 700 per cent over the last decade.

Most people have seen or will have heard of the massive problem of plastic polluting our oceans, and the problem obviously isn't confined to cotton buds and wet wipes, as we heard in the debate earlier. The use of wet wipes has increased dramatically, and there's been a huge growth in the number of these products being sold, with major advertising campaigns from manufacturers and the cosmetics industry further increasing demand.

Turning to the amendments, Labour's amendment is simply complacent, and it demonstrates that Welsh Government are looking at symptoms rather than causes. These wipes and other items are in the sewage system in the first place because people put them there. Unless Welsh Government find ways to get the message through to the public that these items should go in the bin rather than down the toilet, the problem is only going to get worse. The water companies can tell Welsh Government what the extent of the problem is, but they can't control what people put down the toilet and, therefore, into the public sewer. To be fair, neither can Welsh Government, but they are in a much better position to educate the public than the water companies. It's for that reason and the fact that it would cancel out our call for more work on extended producer responsibility that we are unable to support amendment 1. We will however be supporting amendment 2.

Turning to amendment 3, proposed by Plaid, regarding the exploration of new taxes to reduce the use of consumable materials, I think everyone in this Chamber can probably agree with us that the waste created by humans shouldn't end up in our environment. It's all about finding the appropriate solution, and that could be a combination of measures, but I question how effective new taxes would be at reducing the use of items like wet wipes and cotton buds. These aren't high-priced items, where even a very high tax would increase the price sufficiently to reduce usage significantly. True, some people will be priced out of buying these items, but do you really want to price out the very people who might need them the most and may be on a low income? We don't want to do that, which is why we'll be voting against amendment 3.

In my view, Welsh Government and the water companies need to adopt a two-pronged approach. At the same time as educating the public about the costs and consequences of flushing away items that belong in the bin, Welsh Government and the water companies need to work with the manufacturers of these items to create alternatives that won't block sewers on the way to the treatment plant, even if they are flushed down the toilet. Thank you.