A Bill banning single-use plastics is expected to be laid before the Senedd today (20 September).
The Environmental Protection (Single-use Plastic Products) (Wales) Bill will make it an offence to supply or offer to supply littered and unnecessary disposable single-use plastic products to consumers in Wales.
Visit the Welsh Government website for more details
A positive step
The plastic pandemic is wreaking havoc on our oceans, wildlife, and our soils. And we are only just beginning to uncover the impacts on human health, with microplastics being found in the food that we eat and the air that we breathe.
So, we welcome this legislation and believe it is a positive step on our journey towards truly transforming the way we consume plastics and reduce waste as a nation. Crucially, it paves the way for industry to move away from polluting practices.
Making the Bill futureproof
Welsh Government first sought the views on a single-use plastics ban in 2020. At the time, Keep Wales Tidy, along with many other organisations, urged Welsh Government to take urgent action to avoid falling behind on implementing effective legislation.
We know the nature of litter is always changing. You just need to look at the vast increase in ‘on-the-go’ food and drink items over the past decade, and, more recently, the new trend in single-use vapes.
We hope that the powers granted in the Bill will allow Wales to respond to emerging threats of other single-use products as consumer trends continue to evolve.
We’ll also be urging Welsh Government to put in place a deadline or timetable for the ban, to ensure there are no further delays.
Take action now
We’re marking the introduction of the Bill with a clean-up in Cardiff Bay, working in partnership with the Cardiff Harbour Authority and Cardiff Rivers Group. Plastic waste often ends up in places like Cardiff Bay, where Cardiff Harbour Authority and volunteers carry out regular clean-ups, collecting around 500 tonnes of litter each year, much of it plastic.
The event is one of nine clean-ups Cardiff Rivers Group are organising for Marine Clean Cymru which officially launched on Friday 16 September. Inspired? You can take action against marine litter too.
