6. The Household Waste Duty of Care (Fixed Penalties) (Wales) Regulations 2019

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:10 pm on 19 February 2019.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Hannah Blythyn Hannah Blythyn Labour 5:10, 19 February 2019

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I'm actually quite surprised. From what you say, you acknowledge that there's a problem with fly-tipping, yet don't support these regulations, which are aimed at not only enforcement, but as a deterrent. We are proud of our recycling record in Wales; that's why we're first in the UK and third in the world. And we want to build on that, which is why we will be bringing in our 'Towards Zero Waste' refresh later this year, and also we will be consulting on Part 4 of the Environment (Wales) Act 2016, which will place the same responsibility on businesses and other organisations to separate their waste for collection as householders already do in communities and counties right across Wales.

Just to reiterate—. The number of times I've stood here and responded to Members who have concerns in terms of fly-tipping in their local area—you know, we need to take whatever steps we can to tackle that. We know it is a blight on our communities and on our otherwise lovely countryside, and that's why we need a holistic approach that not only encourages people to recycle but also drives behaviour change as well, so we actually reduce that blight of fly-tipping on our country. So, I would invite Members to support these regulations, which will confer on Welsh local authorities and Natural Resources Wales the power to offer a person the ability to discharge liability to criminal conviction for waste duty of care offences by payment of a fixed penalty. Diolch, Deputy Presiding Officer.