Today, the Environmental Protection (Single-use Plastic Products) (Wales) Bill (‘the Bill’) and Explanatory Memorandum has been laid before Senedd Cymru (‘the Senedd’).

This Bill is a key step in halting the flow of plastic pollution into our environment and forms part of our response to the climate and nature emergency. The Bill makes it an offence for a person to supply or offer to supply (including for free), the following commonly littered and unnecessary single-use plastic (SUP) products to a consumer in Wales:

1.  Cutlery
2. plates
3. stirrers
4. drinking straws – this product has an exemption for health needs
5. plastic stemmed cotton buds
6. balloon sticks
7. expanded and foamed extruded polystyrene fast-food containers
8. expanded and foamed extruded polystyrene cups
9. polystyrene lids for all cups and fast-food containers
10. thin plastic single-use carrier bags – this product has an exemption for health or safety needs
11. all products made of oxo-degradable plastic

An enforcement operation was recently held on Ewloe weighbridge, Flintshire, with the aim of clamping down on illegal waste carriers and illegitimate waste sites.

This partnership operation between Natural Resources Wales (NRW), Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) and North Wales Police is one of several recently held to targeting criminals who use the roads to commit waste offences. These regular operations take place at various locations across North Wales.

The operation held on Friday 29 July saw vehicles carrying waste being actively targeted. Any suspected vehicle was stopped by the DVSA and police with the aim of finding out if there was any waste on board and where it was due to end up. If any waste offences were found to have been committed, NRW Enforcement Officers would then deal with them accordingly.

Carys Williams, NRW Team Leader Industry & Waste Regulation North East, said:

“By working in partnership with the DVSA and North Wales Police, we send out a positive message to those who seek to profit by breaking the law, that Natural Resources Wales will not tolerate any harm to North Wales communities or damage to the environment.
“Illegal waste carriers can have a detrimental effect on legitimate waste businesses that invest in the correct measures. Therefore it is essential that we look to take action to protect people and the environment, as well as safeguarding the North Wales waste market.
“We would like to thank the DVSA, North Wales Police and all local authorities who play their crucial roles in these regular enforcement operations across North Wales.”

David Collings, DVSA’s Head of Enforcement Delivery, said:

“DVSA’s priority is protecting everyone from unsafe drivers and vehicles.
“By working in partnership with other agencies we are able to pool our resources to help crack down on those flouting road safety rules and damaging the environment.
“We look forward to working with Natural Resources Wales, and North Wales Police again and want to remind local vehicle operators of their duty to make sure their vehicles are well maintained and safely loaded to keep local Flintshire road users safe.”

Source: Natural Resources Wales Press Release

Emissions reduced by 40% in 2020, exceeding the target of a 27% reduction on 1990. Wales is also likely to have met its first carbon budget (2016-2020), which set a legal target of achieving an average reduction of 23% on 1990 The latest data confirms we are likely to have outperformed our carbon budget achieving an average reduction of 28%.

To coincide with the data, the Welsh Government published its very first Public Sector Emissions Report to keep track of its bold ambitions to see the entire public sector carbon neutral by 2030, inclusive of the NHS and all local authorities.

Reflecting on the figures, Julie James MS thanked communities and organisations across Wales for their efforts but warned that globally and at home, much more needs to be done in order to avert climate chaos.

Social justice and tackling the climate emergency are at the heart of the Welsh Government’s priorities.

A survey produced by Natural Resources Wales (NRW) has solidified Wales as one of the world’s biggest recyclers after finding 90% of its construction and demolition waste is sent for re-use, recycling or recovery.

The Construction and Demolition Waste Survey, which was produced on behalf of Welsh Government estimated that 3.4M tonnes of waste was produced in Wales in 2019.

Data was collected from 508 businesses of varying sizes from a range of construction sectors throughout Wales between April 2021 and September 2021.

Accuracy of the latest study has been improved given higher levels of participation in key sectors and adopting lessons learnt from previous surveys.

The survey found most construction waste was produced by Civil Engineering Constructions (36%), with the General and Domestic building sectors tying for second place (16% each). The remaining 6 construction sectors, including highway construction and commercial buildings, accounted for less than 10%.

Of the waste generated, 90% was sent for re-use, recycling or recovery for use elsewhere.

Fibres from 4.3 tonnes of used nappies have replaced materials used to make asphalt that are normally shipped in from Europe and beyond. The other ingredient - aggregate - was sourced within a 45 mile radius, sustaining local jobs and cutting carbon by shortening the supply chain.

Nappies and other absorbent hygiene products are currently or have plans to be collected in 15 out of 22 local authorities in Wales. Still, an estimated 143 million nappies are thrown away in Wales each year.

Considered a single-use plastic, they could take hundreds of years to degrade in landfill. Though the plastic lining can be recycled easily, the fibres in the absorbing layer have previously proven a challenge.

To address this, Welsh Government through its SMART innovation programme funded Ammanford-based NappiCycle to clean used nappies and separate the plastic and cellulose fibres for re-use. It is working with Welsh business to explore other market uses for the fibres.

The road is just one of many innovations Welsh Government is spearheading in its aim to move to a circular economy - where waste is turned into a resource and kept in use for as long as possible.

If the trial - which will undergo rigorous environmental assessments to scrutinise breakdown of the material over time - proves successful, the initiative could be scaled up - reducing waste, tackling climate change and creating green jobs in the process.

Minister for Climate Change, Julie James said:

The road to zero waste requires innovation, collaboration and bold action. We have elevated ourselves from one of the world’s worst recyclers to one of the best since devolution began. I have no doubt that with a Team Wales effort we can achieve world number one recycler, whilst ensuring no more rubbish is sent to landfill after 2025 and none sent to energy incinerators after 2050.

Economy Minister, Vaughan Gething said:

Welsh Government is committed to supporting our businesses to design and develop innovative solutions to global problems, which helps boost our economy and protect our society.

I’m delighted our Innovation Team have been able to play a pioneering role in taking this project forward. Once again, Wales is demonstrating it is a leading player in applying research and development to Circular Economy solutions.
Wales is ranked first in the UK, second in Europe and third in the world for household waste recycling. Wales remains the only country in the world to enshrine a Well-Being of Future Generations Act in law, meaning all policy decisions made today must consider the impact on the generations of tomorrow.

Source: Welsh Government Press Release

Climate Change Minister Julie James confirmed the Welsh Government will jointly consult with the other UK nations on a digital waste tracking service.

The tracking service would make it mandatory for those handling waste to record information about what happens to it, from the point it is produced to the point it is reused, recycled, or disposed.

Minister for Climate Change Julie James said:

Wales is a global leader when it comes to recycling, and today’s announcement is a further example of how we are taking action to move to a circular economy.

Introducing a mandatory digital waste tracking service will greatly improve transparency in the waste sector and it will crucially also support our action to get maximum value from the materials we collect.

This will help businesses to comply with their duty of care with regards to waste and help them make more informed choices about how their waste is managed. 

It will also give businesses the information they need to identify and unlock the full potential value of waste materials, by replacing raw materials with recycled material and providing confidence in supply chains for new innovative solutions.

Our aim is for the service to also provide annual information on industrial, commercial, construction and demolition waste produced in Wales to replace the current periodic surveys.