Written question WQ83666

Reducing waste and moving to a more circular economy in Wales where we keep resources in use is a priority for our ambitions to reach a net zero Wales. The Programme for Government and circular economy strategy - Beyond Recycling – were published earlier this year and repair and re-use and zero waste shopping are identified as integral to the transition to a low carbon economy.

We have successfully trialled and piloted ground-breaking action to support re-use and repair through our Circular Economy Fund that we launched and we have continued to build on this action. In the last financial year, a number of pilot repair and re-use hub projects have been funded through our Circular Economy Fund such as those in Buckley, Newtown and Llandrindod Wells. Monitoring is now being undertaken to ensure project delivery, value for money and to assess the way forward to deliver on Government commitments.

Local authorities have been expanding their network of re-use shops with support from the Welsh Government too. The Cabin which recently opened in Cardiff redirected more than 4,200 items to re-use, in its first month of operation, through their shop, and the Tip Treasures shop in Llansamlet in Swansea has been expanded to enable the re-use of furniture and other large items.

Re:make Newport opened earlier this month in the city centre with support from the Landfill Disposals Tax Communities Scheme, a Welsh Government funding programme managed by the WCVA. The premises in Newport offers a repair space, a refill shop and a place to borrow items at a low cost and supports town centre regeneration by increasing footfall.

Other support has been provided to co-ordinate action in communities between businesses and residents to reduce waste and encourage zero waste shopping. For example, the Naked Takeaway Scheme in Mold which sees local restaurants using re-usable containers. In June, the Scheme won the Cittaslow Chiocciola Orange 2021 Award in the environmental category. The award looks for places where people enjoy living, working and visiting, while promoting and supporting good environmental practices and projects. This, in turn, helps local people and businesses to value the unique traditions, strengths and character of their town. This accolade saw Mold becoming the first UK town to win this international award.

We have seen the growth of zero waste and plastic free shopping across Wales continue over the last six months. In September, Zero Waste Torfaen opened in Cwmbran offering refill and plastic free products and in May, Bangor became the first city to achieve ‘Plastic Free Community’ status following their work to encourage businesses to use less single use plastic items and work with the community to use reusable containers.

With the support of our delivery partners, we have worked to mainstream support for businesses. Business Wales and the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) Cymru provide advice and support to businesses and social enterprises and regularly highlight case studies on their website.

Our Transforming Towns programme is providing £136 million to secure the long term sustainability of our town and city centres by driving footfall and making them attractive places to be. The major capital and loan elements of the programme and will be vital in repurposing empty property and land in our town centres. Repair and re-use hubs, zero-waste shops and refill points are all examples of where we can invest in infrastructure and repurpose our empty town centre buildings.

The Beyond Recycling Strategy also commits to support action to work with the public sector in Wales to ensure that low carbon goods and products or ones made from recycled and refurbished materials are prioritised. Earlier this summer, WRAP Cymru published guidance on sustainable procurement which contains recent case studies from across the country.

We will use the learning from these projects and successes across Wales to inspire further action to encourage greater re-use and repair and zero waste shopping.