Single-use plastic bags will be phased out over the next year, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Associate Environment Minister Eugenie Sage announced on 10 August.
“We’re phasing-out single-use plastic bags so we can better look after our environment and safeguard New Zealand’s clean, green reputation,” said Jacinda Ardern.
Call for action is clear
Councillor Penny Hulse, Chair of the Environment and Community Committee welcomes the announcement.
“With hundreds of millions of plastic bags being used only once by Kiwis each year for an average of only 10 minutes, the desire to reduce our plastic waste and the call for action from the public to protect our environment is loud and clear.”
“On behalf of Auckland Council and Mayor Goff, we also support the leadership and commitment from retailers and supermarkets such as Countdown and New World to phasing out single-use plastic bags by the end of 2018, key changes that will help start a movement to reduce all single-use plastics.”
Ban the bag
In Auckland, over 200,000 tonnes of plastic bags and other plastics are sent to landfill unnecessarily each year.
As part of our commitment to reducing plastic waste, Auckland Council has phased out the use of orange plastic rubbish bags in kerbside collections for urban areas, replacing them with wheelie bins.
Removing single-use plastics is a positive start towards removing plastics pollution from our precious coastal and marine environments and moving towards a zero-waste future to help Auckland become a world-class city.
Have your say
To have your say, visit: mfe.govt.nz/plasticbags
You can share your views on New Zealand becoming free of single-use plastic bags until Friday 14 September. This includes options for the date the phase-out is to be complete by, what bags should be included, any retailers that should be exempted, and how best to help people with the transition.
Living without plastic
Check out our top tips on how to live without plastic bags and reduce single-use plastic.
