Plastic bag use on the decrease

New Zealanders used close to a billion plastic bags last year...

So it’s good to see figures released by Foodstuffs New Zealand show that PAK’nSAVE, New World and Four Square stores have reduced their plastic bag usage by more than 45 million over the last two years.

“In the first year (to June 2006) we cut plastic bag use by 16 million bags over the previous year. This year we reduced plastic bag use by a further 29 million bags.

This suggests that there’s a real move among our shoppers to use fewer plastic bags,” says Melissa Hodd, executive manager, Foodstuffs New Zealand.

Elsewhere in the retail world, Bunnings Warehouse has introduced a new initiative to completely eliminate the use of plastic bags.

Bunnings imposes a 10c levy on all plastic bags used at checkouts with the initiative then leading to a total elimination of plastic bags over the course of the year, leaving all Bunnings stores 'plastic bag-free' by 31 December 2007.

Customers are offered reusable bags at cost or free cardboard boxes. All proceeds from the 10c levy will be donated to the non-profit organisation Keep New Zealand Beautiful.