New Zealand has
become the world's first country to expand its ban on plastic bags in
supermarkets to thin bags, which are typically used to hold fruits or
vegetables.
The move, which
took effect on Saturday, is part of a wider government campaign against
single-use plastics.
Most shoppers
already bring their own bags to stores after take-home plastic bags were banned
in 2019.
In recent years,
many countries have imposed a fee or ban on plastic bags.
"New
Zealand produces too much waste, too much plastic waste," Associate
Environment Minister Rachel Brooking said.
She added more
than one billion plastic bags had been saved since the ban on thicker bags took
effect in 2019.
The new move is
expected to prevent the usage of 150 million plastic bags per year.
Critics have
raised concerns that shoppers may just place groceries in disposable paper
bags, which are still available in supermarkets.
"It's still
worth doing this, but we really want to reduce single-use anything
packaging," Ms Brooking said.
"So we want
people to be bringing their own bags, and supermarkets are selling reusable
produce bags," she added.
Supermarket
chain Countdown, which operates more than 185 stores across the country, has
started selling reusable polyester mesh bags.
The company
hopes this will encourage shoppers to use reusable bags for fruits and
vegetables.
"We know
change is hard and (it) will take them a little while," said Catherine
Langabeer, the head of sustainability at Countdown. "We get some grumpy
customers."
The New Zealand
government has made progress on other initiatives to tackle climate change.
In
October, it proposed taxing the greenhouse gases produced by farm animals like
sheep and cattle.
The world's
first scheme will see farmers paying for agricultural emissions in some form by
2025.
The country's
farming industry accounts for about half of its emissions.
SOURCE: CITINEWSROOM
0 comments:
Post a Comment