• I THOROUGHLY enjoyed taking part in the Admiral City of Newport Half Marathon this month.

To see the Newport Half grow as it has done over the years is brilliant for the City of Newport and the event was a fabulous reflection on the organisers, St David's Hospice Care, who do such marvellous work throughout our community. The event created a really good buzz about Newport and I was pleased to see so many people getting involved.

Thank you to all the organisers, marshals and supporters whose contributions were invaluable. Well done to everyone who took part.

• I’d like to encourage residents of Newport to help make Wales the global leader in recycling after new figures revealed that the country is now the third best in the world at recycling.

The news that Wales is now the third best recycling nation in the world is a tribute to the action of householders and councils in areas like Newport, who are helping to make the Welsh Labour Government’s ambitious recycling targets a reality.

Wales’ position as a world leader in recycling is something we can all be proud of. Figures show that we are now recycling double the amount of waste we recycled a decade ago, with an impressive rate of 62 per cent according to the most recent statistics. This is good news for our local environment, with significantly less waste going to landfill.

However, there is a great deal more that we can all do to boost these rates further. That is why the Welsh Labour Government wants Wales to become the highest recycling nation with a zero waste approach.”

We can all do our bit in making Wales the global leader in recycling. Small measures like recycling more of our food waste can make a huge difference to our environment and will see Wales’s recycling performance go from strength to strength.

A range of useful tips and further information about recycling can be found at www.recycleforwales.org.uk

• I was very pleased to welcome pupils from St Patricks School to the Senedd this month. Along with the cabinet secretary for education, Kirsty Williams, the children got to look around the Assembly and find out how the Welsh Government runs from day to day and asked some very good questions at the end of it! Any groups in Newport East are welcome to visit the Senedd. To arrange this, please contact my office on 01633 222302.