Written question WQ93073

I’m encouraged by the work being undertaken by the Royal Society of Chemistry and pleased that it recognises the Welsh Government’s commitment to a circular economy.

As part of our delivery against the commitments in our circular economy strategy, Beyond Recycling, we are working with other nations of the UK on proposals for Extended Producer Responsibility for waste electrical and electronic equipment. In doing so, our aim is to drive up levels of separately collected waste electrical and electronic equipment for re-use and recycling from households and incentivise the design of products that have lower environmental impacts and a more circular lifecycle. In taking this work forward I have asked officials to engage with the Royal Society of Chemistry to discuss the six-point action plan and their ideas for the effective tackling of e-waste.

In addition, as a Government we are also working in partnership across the UK to improve data collection through the implementation of digital waste tracking which will also apply to e-waste and continuing our work to invest in recycling and reuse infrastructure in partnership with local authorities, building on the £1bn we have invested since devolution which has seen Wales now climb to second in the world for recycling.