NZ close to decision on banning single-use plastic bags

Tuesday, 5 June 2018

How long does it take for a plastic bag to break down - and what harm can it do?

The Government is gearing up to tackle the issue of single-use plastic bags in New Zealand.

On Tuesday afternoon, Associate Environment Minister Eugenie Sage said she was getting closer to making a decision on plastic bags, and an announcement would be made within the next few months.

Sage would not confirm if a ban was on the cards. However, she has not shied away from showing her support for one.

In January, Sage hinted at a tax on plastic bags. At the time, she said initiatives such as the Environment Ministry's soft plastics scheme 'weren't enough'.

* Government considers tax on plastic bags**

'Plastic bags, which are used once and thrown away, need to be phased out.'

On Tuesday, Sage said her preference was to phase out single-use plastic bags, rather than put a levy on them.

Associate Environment Minister Eugenie Sage wants to see single-use plastic bags banned.

Officials at the Ministry for the Environment were working on options, but had not yet made a decision about how to tackle the issue, she said.

A decision would be made after all the options were presented and considered, Sage said.

An announcement would be made 'well before the end of the year' she said.

Sage told RadioLive companies that had already committed to phasing out single-use plastic bags by the end of the year accounted for about 75 per cent of bags used in New Zealand each year.

'But for that other 25 per cent, it needs action from Government.'

Countdown was the first company to announce it was banning plastic bags, and has already started phasing them out with 10 stores no longer selling plastic bags.

Other companies, such as, Foodstuffs, which owns New World, FourSquare and Pak 'n Save, and Mitre 10, and The Warehouse were also phasing out single-use plastic bags by the end of the year.