We must be careful, in any debate on the use of plastic, not to throw the baby out with the bath water. There are many legitimate cost-effective and sensible uses for plastic. So, if we are to be effective in our fight against plastic pollution, we have to concentrate our efforts on those uses that are totally avoidable, or on those whose use is extendable. It is the single-use plastic items that we should aim to drastically reduce, or, better still, eradicate entirely. I think we would all agree that the use of single-use plastic items is now at epidemic levels. There is also no doubt that single-use plastic items are a major contributor to the Earth's pollution levels. The chief culprit is, of course, the throwaway plastic bottle. The statistics are horrendous. The human race purchases 1 million plastic bottles every minute. Only 23 per cent are recycled, which means over three quarters are left to pollute the planet. There has been an exponential rise in the use of plastic bottles over the last few decades, primarily due to the purchasing of bottled water, almost unheard of in the UK until the 1980s, and limited primarily to glass bottles on the continent and the rest of the developed world. The soft drinks industry as a whole is a major factor in single-use plastic figures.

So, we know the problem—is there a long-lasting, sustainable answer? I think we should all agree that there is no silver bullet solution. It will be found in a number of interventions, some of which we in Wales may activate unilaterally, and others that will need UK and international co-operation and implementation. The options for unilateral interventions for Wales are limited. The possibility of introducing a deposit-return system has been discussed in Plenary previously. I am a great believer in this solution, with the proviso that the deposit element must be at a level that will truly encourage people to recycle. We could explore the possibility of encouraging producers and supermarkets to reduce their use of plastic packaging, and we can establish recycling banks to facilitate the recycling of bottles.

We were, of course, the first to introduce a charge for plastic bags, but given that, worldwide, 4 trillion plastic bags are issued every year, with only 1 per cent recycled, perhaps we could consider an outright ban on plastic bags in Wales, which, as with the charge, may be replicated by all UK Governments.

I thank the Member for Ogmore for bringing this debate to the Chamber. We must not leave this as an interesting discussion. The Welsh Government must do everything in its power to help mitigate this environmental disaster, and we are pleased to support this legislative proposal.