Welsh Liberal Democrats to stage farm plastics protest

Release/Rhyddhau: Monday, 11 April 2005

Contact/Cyswllt: Ceirion Rees:
029 2089 8342/ 07733280105/ ceirion.rees@wales.gov.uk 

Welsh Liberal Democrat AM’s Mick Bates and Kirsty Williams will be staging an event outside the National Assembly for Wales on Wednesday, 13th April at 12.45pm to highlight the problems farmers have in recycling plastic.

They will be joined by farmers, union representatives and Second Life Plastic, a farm recycling organisation that has been forced to close due to lack of funding.

During the event a frustrated farmer will be dumping the plastic he can not recycle outside the National Assembly building.

Ms Williams said:  “The Labour Assembly Government need to take this issue seriously.  In Scotland, the Lib Dem partnership Executive has invested £150,000 to ensure farm recycling schemes work.  In Wales no such schemes exist.

Mr Bates said:  “The majority of farmers are very environmentally aware.  They want to recycle their plastic but can’t.  The Labour Assembly Government needs to ensure facilities are made available.

“We need to see “Bring Sites” where farmers can get rid of their plastic in an environmentally manner.  These sites should be paid for, at least in part, by the plastic manufacturer.  In some parts of Europe it is the manufacturer who picks up the cost of recycling.  We should see that kind of thing happening in this country.

“It’s time Labour took this issue seriously.  We can not allow organisations like Second Life Plastic go out of business.”

Notes:

• Mick Bates, Kirsty Williams, the FUW and Second life plastic will be meeting outside the National Assembly for Wales, Wednesday 13th April 2005.

• Second Life Plastics, based in Llandeilo, has collected waste plastic from farms across Wales and beyond for the last 15 years. However, the only current recycling plant in Britain (in Dumfries in Scotland) is at full capacity and Second Life Plastics have failed to win National Assembly backing for its bid to build their own plant using EU Objective Funding.