I am Anwen and I represent Learning Disability Wales on the Welsh Youth Parliament. I am a member of the littering and plastic waste committee and today would like to give you a brief overview of where we are and what our plans are for this first term of the Welsh Youth Parliament.

At our most recent regional meeting, we formed committees to consider each of the three areas we have decided to work on. These brainstorming sessions were very productive and have given us a good starting point for understanding what the issues are, and we have some initial suggestions for moving forward.

Members of the littering and plastic waste committee discussed personal experiences and opinions. We shared information on activities we have personally been involved in to address reducing the amount of littering and plastic waste, as well as other examples of best practice we were aware of.

Some Members have been involved in litter picks both in school and within the communities they live in. Others have been involved in initiatives in their schools. For example, one Member’s school has introduced recycling stations around the school so students can recycle their plastic bottles, paper, cardboard and food containers when they were previously unable to. It is important to share these examples of best practice and encourage our own schools to make positive changes.

It is very important to us that we have a full understanding of the issues young people across Wales would like us to address. We have started to engage with the young people of Wales and are beginning to have conversations around why littering and plastic waste is so important to them and what their top priorities for action in this area are.

As well as these priorities, it is very important to us that our work within the Welsh Youth Parliament and the littering and plastic waste committee takes into consideration research done by other bodies and organisations, including the important work done by the Assembly. We are very encouraged by the decision to declare a climate emergency and the commitment to work to develop a plan for a carbon-zero future for Wales. We hope to work with you to bring the voice of young people in Wales to inform this plan. The community I live in have recently joined you in making their own declaration. I have joined the community working group with other young people in the community to make sure young people’s concerns are heard.

The Youth Parliament are aware of the recent report by the National Assembly’s Climate Change, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee into the effects of microplastic and plastic pollution. It is vitally important we tackle not just the plastic we can see, but also the vast amount of microparticles and fibres we cannot. We commend the committee for this report and wholeheartedly agree with the conclusion of this report that Wales cannot waste another day in the battle against plastic pollution. The time to act is now. Diolch. [Applause.]