I’d like to thank Huw Irranca-Davies for bringing this motion before the Senedd. I was very pleased to support the motion to propose legislation to reduce single-use plastics on behalf of Plaid Cymru.

Since plastic has been used on an industrial scale, pollution because of that has increased daily to the huge scale that we see today, for the simple reason that plastic doesn't rot over time. According to Beachwatch, there's been an increase in the last decade of plastic for every 100m of coastline, from 381 pieces to 485 pieces. Now, every piece of plastic pollutes that environment and has a terrible impact on natural life.

The environment committee in the Senedd heard recently from Cardiff University that half of the insects in the Taf had plastics in them, and microplastics were a plague in Welsh rivers. This isn’t a problem that we can recycle our way out of either, because of the nature of plastic, and it’s a cause of huge concern that over 60 per cent of the plastics that Wales recycles is exported. A nation that wants to be globally responsible shouldn't be exporting pollution elsewhere.

I announced recently that Plaid Cymru in Government would aim towards the banning of unnecessary single-use plastic by the middle of the next decade. The Welsh Government could start that work now by announcing its intention to ban single-use plastic bags as soon as possible, as 70 nations have already done, aiming then to ban wet wipes and polystyrene, and some of the other things that Huw Irranca-Davies has already mentioned.

There are other steps that can be taken, including educating people on the need to reduce their use of single-use plastics; labelling plastic products in order to enable consumers to make informed decisions in buying goods; promoting goods that don’t add to the problem with a particular label, as Fairtrade has done already in a different way for ethical products; introducing a levy on products such as single-use cups, as has already been mentioned, to encourage people to use their own caps; and to introduce regulations to reduce use in festivals and so on.

Llywydd, Plaid Cymru is pleased to support this legislative proposal today as a small but significant step on the road towards eradicating single-use plastics from our economy. Thank you.