Taking the initiative for a better lifestyle

THE Welsh Government deserves to be commended for the recycling initiatives it is due to announce today.

Unnecessary waste is not just damaging to the environment but costly to the public purse.

The takeaway culture has created changes in lifestyle, not all of which are positive.

While people on the go no longer have to take time out of their schedule to sit down and drink coffee in a cafe, they are adding to the country’s waste problem when they use a disposable plastic container.

It’s something that many of us do on a regular basis without thinking about the consequences.

Imposing a special tax on disposable plastic cups may sound harsh and will doubtless be criticised as a regulation too far.

But, as the introduction of a 5p levy on single-use plastic shopping bags has shown, such charges can change behaviour for the better.

The reintroduction of a deposit scheme for drinks containers is long overdue. At one time it was the norm to be charged a little extra when buying bottles of soft drinks in particular.

Most people made sure they got their deposit back by returning the bottle to the shop where it was bought.

The transition from bottles to cans marked the effective end of the scheme, which had never had legal backing.

Now talks are taking place between the UK Government and the devolved administrations with a view to introducing a UK-wide deposit scheme with statutory status. We hope agreement will be reached and that it will be up and running before long.

Environment Minister Hannah Blythyn is also right to extol the merits of tap water. Her intervention is timely given the weekend heatwave – and it deserves to be taken seriously.

In recent years the desirability of keeping oneself properly hydrated from a health point of view has become better understood.

But to succeed in achieving this requires help when people are out and about.

Elsewhere in the UK there have been initiatives that involve licensed premises and others putting signs and stickers on the outside of their premises to let passers-by know that free tap water is available to them.

Such a scheme should definitely be rolled out across Wales and it is good news that the Welsh Government is intending to do so.

It would be in the interests of licensed premises to join in because it is likely – though by no means in every case – to bring them extra business.

As a back-up, the Welsh Government would be able to point out that there is a legal obligation on such businesses to make tap water freely available, even if they can make a reasonable charge for use of a glass.

Waste reduction is a policy area that is devolved and one in which positive delivery has taken place.

More achievements are possible in the future and we wish the Welsh Government well in such a commendable initiative.