I'd like to thank Huw Irranca-Davies for bringing this legislative proposal forward today, and I'm really pleased to support it wholeheartedly. We've come quite a way in our awareness and in how we recycle. It was something I first got an understanding of—like many people my age—when I was 10 years old, following Blue Peter's recycling campaign. Wastesavers in my local authority in Newport really did lead the way here in Wales, but recycling now is really not enough.

I believe there's a real desire by people who want to know more about how they can change their habits and cut back on the amount of plastic they consume on a daily basis. We have to end the throwaway culture and think about how we can reduce, reuse and recycle. Of course, individual habits cannot stand alone—some supermarkets are making a start with reducing plastic, while, in Italy, the Government are looking to introduce discounts on the price of food items and detergents sold without packaging, and to promote drinks, shampoos and other liquids to be sold from dispensers and reusable containers. You’re even able to get straws made of pasta, which offers a practical solution to what is now a most famous issue. These examples are innovative and welcome, and it’s this kind of thinking that we need to be looking at, from both the private sector and us as a Government, to help drive this change. And Huw and others in this Chamber today have mentioned some of the initiatives that I think we should be looking to take action on.

The fallout from single-use plastic is seen everywhere. In my constituency of Newport West, there are some great voluntary groups that work tirelessly to help make their local communities a better place to live, work and visit. Groups such as Pride in Pill, Celtic Horizons Litter Pickers, Rogerstone Routes and the Duffryn Dusters all regularly collect bags and bags of plastic. One of their biggest bugbears is plastic bottles. As such, they’re eager to see an establishment of a bottle deposit-return scheme. They're understandably frustrated by the length of time it’s taking, and this is a great idea, which is very popular and something that the public want to see, and I’d hope the Minister can give us an update in her contribution later. And, speaking to fishermen who fish on the River Usk, I know that plastic is a significant issue—it’s suffocating our seas, oceans, rivers and waterways.

I just want to finish by quickly mentioning sanitary products. Sanitary products are the fifth most common item found on Europe’s beaches—more widespread than single-use coffee cups, cutlery or straws. And, as Rhianon Passmore has said, I’d like to pay tribute to Ella Daish, who’s convinced Sainsbury’s to stop producing plastic applicators for its own brand of tampons. And she convinced Caerphilly council to buy only plastic-free menstrual products from the Welsh Government’s free school sanitary products. And it would be great to see all councils following suit. I know that Ella’s aim is for all period products to become plastic free, and I fully support Ella on this. So, there’s much more that we can do. We have a real opportunity here in Wales. Be ambitious, be bold, and I really hope Members from across the Chamber support this today.