Agenda item

Councillor Bryan Davies presented the report on behalf of Councillor Matthew Vaux. The Environmental Protection (Single-use Plastic Products) (Wales) Act 2023 (“the Act”) introduced Stage 1 of the ban on businesses and organisations in Wales to sell or supply certain single-use plastic products to consumers and came into effect on 30.10.2023.

The Act made it a criminal offence for businesses and organisations to supply the following products:

•       Single-use plastic plates

•       Single-use plastic cutlery – like knives, forks and spoons

•       Single-use plastic drink stirrers

•       Cups made of some types of polystyrene

•       Takeaway food containers made of some types of polystyrene

•       Plastic sticks for balloons

•       Single-use plastic-stemmed cotton buds

•       Single-use plastic drinking straws – apart from people who need them to eat and drink safely and independently.

The ban affected retailers, food vendors, takeaways and the hospitality industry and applied to supplies both over the counter and online.  There were however several exemptions, for example, that permitted pharmacies to continue to provide plastic straws in cases where individuals needed them to eat and drink safely and independently.  Other exemptions would see plastic-stemmed cotton buds still being used in healthcare settings and plastic spoons permitted with the supply of liquid medicines to measure dosage.

Stage 2 bans would come into force by April 2026. This would affect the supply of single-use plastic carrier bags, polystyrene lids for drinks and food containers and products made from a type of plastic called oxo-degradable plastic.

It was envisaged that, as was the case with the introduction of the single-use carrier bag charge some years ago, the new law would embed itself smoothly, with full compliance being achieved.

Members were provided with the opportunity to ask questions which were answered by Officers present and Councillor Bryan Davies. The main points raised were as follows:

·       Members were supportive of the new legislation given the environmental challenges and suggested that educating people to dispose of rubbish correctly was key. It was acknowledged that the legislation would possibly have unintended consequences as was often the case. 

·       Businesses were aware of the new legislation prior to it coming into effect and from discussions with 200-250 businesses to date, no issues had been identified. From an enforcement perspective, there was an emphasis firstly on educating businesses as opposed to legal action.

·       It was acknowledged that there was an element of cost for businesses with the introduction of the ban, however, many businesses had adopted the approach prior to it coming into law. In the event businesses had excess single-use plastics, it was their responsibility to contact suppliers for a refund or to dispose of them correctly.

·       Concerns were raised that if the same approach in terms of the ban on single-use plastic were applied to agriculture, it would cause difficulties for farmers. It was noted that farmers were required to recycle plastic and provide evidence of this, however, businesses such as food vendors were unable to trace where plastic was disposed of once given to a customer. 

·       It was highlighted that at a Full Council meeting on 22.02.2018, the Council unanimously supported a motion to reduce the use of plastic and to support plastic reduction initiatives in Ceredigion and to support this, a Members’ Task and Finish Group was created.

Following questions by the Committee Members, it was agreed to note the contents of the report.