Draft Environmental Protection (Single-use Plastic Products) (Wales) Bill

The Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee (‘the Committee’) is currently considering the draft Environmental Protection (Single-use Plastic Products) (Wales) Bill (‘the draft Bill’), which is due to be introduced to the Senedd early in the autumn.

The draft Bill makes provisions to ban commonly littered single-use plastic items.

The draft Bill will make it an offence for a person to supply or offer to supply (including for free) a consumer in Wales with the single-use plastic products listed in the schedule to the Bill. A summary of the Welsh Government’s consultation on the proposals has also been published.

Terms of reference - the Committee is considering:

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>>>Whether a Bill is needed to introduce a ban on commonly littered single-use plastic items;

>>>The advantages and disadvantages of using a Bill rather than secondary legislation to introduce a ban;

>>>Whether the provisions of the draft Bill will deliver the policy intention;

>>>Whether there are any potential barriers to the implementation of the draft Bill’s provisions (including the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020);

>>>Whether the powers in the draft Bill for Welsh Ministers to make subordinate legislation are appropriate;

>>>Whether there are any unintended consequences arising from the draft Bill;

>>>The financial implications of the draft Bill (including for businesses and consumers).

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Report

The Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure Committee laid its Report on The Environmental Protection (Single-use Plastic Products) (Wales) Bill (PDF 292KB) on 10 October 2022. The Welsh Government responded to the Committee’s report (PDF 198KB) on 25 October 2022.

Evidence gathering

The Committee launched a consultation to gather views on the draft Bill on 15 August 2022, and the consultation closed on 5 September 2022. All responses have been published on our consultation page.

The Committee will hold oral evidence sessions with the Minister for Climate Change, and with stakeholders in September 2022.