The Welsh Government first signalled its intent to ban or restrict the use of several commonly littered single-use plastic products when it consulted on its proposals in October 2020. These bans were being developed in response to growing concerns over the damaging impact of plastic pollution on our wildlife and environment. Over 3,500 responses were received, the majority of which were in favour of introducing the new legislation and many urged the Welsh Government to go further. The consultation and the Welsh Government’s response is available here.
Consequently, the Welsh Government introduced its Environmental Protection (Single-use Plastic Products) (Wales) Bill (“the Bill”) in the Senedd Cymru on 20 September 2022. The Bill was subject to the Senedd Cymru scrutiny process; further details of the Committee evidence sessions and debates can be found on Senedd Cymru’s website.
On 6 December 2022 the Senedd voted overwhelmingly in favour of the Bill and the Bill is now waiting to receive Royal Assent before it can become an Act. We expect this to happen in June 2023. The Bill is available here.
Work is now underway to prepare for the bans to begin this autumn.
The Welsh Government want your views on our proposals for using civil sanctions to enforce forthcoming bans on specified single-use plastic products.
Consultation ends: 9 June 2023.
For further information please select the following link Proposals for enforcement of the Environmental Protection (Single-use Plastic Products) (Wales) Bill | GOV.WALES