Charge, ban or leave them be: Have your say on plastic bags
Wednesday, 29 November 2017
How does a future without plastic bags sound to you? Heaven? Strange? A giant pain in the behind?
Tell us whether you'd like to see a ban, a levy or a free-for-all on bags in New Zealand, in our polls below.
The overall takeaway from polls, petitions, and Local Government-led initiatives conducted since 2015 suggest a majority of Kiwis want action on plastic bags to help curb our usage.
Between 68 and 75 per cent of New Zealanders support a levy on plastic bags, previous polls suggest, provided the money doesn't disappear into government coffers or the pockets of supermarkets.
A national survey carried out by Countdown last year showed just under half of surveyed shoppers were in support of a charge, while roughly a third supported a ban. Now Countdown has vowed to phase out bags from their stores - and it has said its latest surveys showed that more than 80 per cent of customer support the move.
New World also polled customers on their opinions this year: some 76.5 per cent voted for a charge and 75 per cent of those voted for a 10c charge. But an 'overwhelming majority' clamoured for an outright ban, leading the supermarket to follow in its rival's footsteps. Almost 24 per cent voted to keep plastic bags free.
Petitions also paint a picture of strong public support.
One launched by a group of students from Samuel Marsden Collegiate School in June received over 17,000 signatures in support of a levy before it was presented to the Government in late July.
A similar petition from Our Seas Our Future presented to the Government in 2015 had 16,200 signatures. Greenpeace have also launched a petition calling for a ban on plastic bags.
Local government has been consistently united towards a levy. An open letter launched by the mayors of Auckland, Wellington, and Dunedin in early June was signed by 96 per cent of the country's district and city mayors, with only the mayors of Hamilton City, Waikato District, and Otorohanga District refusing to sign.
Where do you stand on the big bag debate?