Single use plastic ban: Starting a culture shift within New Zealand

Starting today, Monday, July 1, New Zealand is embarking on a “cultural shift” when the single-use plastic ban comes into force.

Businesses will not be able to provide their customers with single-use plastic shopping bags – an experience that might entice the usual dedicated environment loving enthusiasts, but might unnerve quite a few, who under the peer pressure of being politically correct, resist sharing their inconvenience.

Indeed, the unrelenting march of materialism over the last many decades particularly that in the global north, and now closely followed in the so-called emerging economies, where customer behaviour has been so generously indulged, with the most drastic impact to our environment.

Getting single plastic bags and that too almost at whims without any sense of responsibility towards the environment or general sustainability has become the most indulged entitlement of the consumers.

In fact, a whopping number of shoppers, especially in their twenties – thirties – or even mid-thirties might not be able to comprehend how to buy their basic foods, vegetables, meats, etc from supermarkets without carrying single-use plastic bags.

For them, and many more, then ban that comes into force on July 1 is nothing less than a beginning of a cultural shift in the manner that they do their day-to-day shopping.

What do you need to know?

Plastic bags which are banned

The ban applies to all new single-use plastic shopping bags with handles that are made of plastic up to 70 microns in thickness.

This includes:

• light-weight plastic bags commonly found at the supermarket, takeaway food and other retail checkouts 
• heavier boutique-style plastic shopping bags commonly found at department or clothing stores 
• ‘emergency’ bags offered by some supermarkets as an alternative to a free single-use plastic bag.

Plastic bags which are not banned

The following bags are not included in the ban. (Unless they have handles for the dual use of carrying sold goods.

• Bin liners
• Bags for collecting pet waste
• Barrier bags used when purchasing meat, and fruit and vegetables.
• Also plastic packaging is not included in the ban.