New Zealand Seals Total Ban on Single-Use Plastic Bags

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The Government of New Zealand has confirmed that retailers will be prohibited to sell or distribute single-use plastic bags starting July 1, 2019. The proposal to phase out single-use plastic shopping bags over the next six months received final Cabinet approval Tuesday.

The approval follows overwhelming support for the ban during the public comment period. The public consultation period, which ran from 10^th August 10 to 14^th September, saw nearly 9,300 people and organizations having their say. Out of this, almost 92% of the participants had expressed strong support to the proposed ban.

The ban will be applicable to all plastic shopping bags with handles that are made of plastics up to 70 microns in thickness. This includes heavier boutique-style shopping bags and emergency bags offered by some supermarkets in addition to the commonly used lightweight plastic bags. It will also cover bags made of degradable plastic that fall within the above description. Exemptions include lightweight synthetic fabric multi-use bags, degradable and compostable bags and barrier bags.

The cabinet paper seeking policy decisions to phase out the sale and distribution of single-use plastic shopping bags in New Zealand aims to achieve significant reduction in environmental harm caused by plastic waste.

As per estimates, the country imports around 15 million of single-use plastic bags every year. The average per person consumption of plastic bags in the country is nearly 154.