Written question WQ92628

Protecting and enhancing our water environment is a priority for the Welsh Government. We have already made it an offence under The Environmental Protection (Microbeads) (Wales) Regulations 2018 to manufacture or supply personal care products containing microbeads in response to their prevalence within the riverine and marine environment.

We are in the process of implementing the Environmental Protection (Single-use Plastic Products) (Wales) Act 2023 (the SUPP Act) which is focussed on banning or restricting the supply of several single-use plastic products found commonly littered in our rivers and seas. Furthermore, we are using powers in the SUPP Act to ban the supply of wet wipes containing plastic. This will further help to reduce the volume of plastic litter as well as microplastics entering our waterways, making our land and oceans cleaner and healthier.

We know littered material can harm wildlife, or enter the water system and cause as serious a problem as marine pollution. We remain committed to our policy on how packaging litter is managed through the packaging Extended Producer Responsibility reforms. Additionally, our Deposit Return Scheme is expected to substantially reduce the littering of in-scope containers through a financial incentive provided to consumers to return disposable drinks containers.

Everyone has a role in improving our water environment for us and future generations. We should all be mindful of how we manage water and waste in the home, what we flush down the toilet and ensure that drainage pipes in our homes are plumbed correctly.