Packaging collects a bagging
A Government proposal to phase out single-use plastic shopping bags is a first step but packaging is a more significant issue, says Tasman deputy mayor Tim King.
The Tasman District Council engineering services committee meeting on Thursday approved a draft submission in support of the Government’s proposal but some councillors questioned the focus on single-use shopping bags.
‘‘I don’t have any one-use plastic bags at our place because they all get used a number of times,’’ Cr Paul Sangster said. ‘‘I have either rags in the shed or it’s a rubbish-tin liner. I don’t know where these single-use plastic bags come in.’’
However, Sangster said he did have a single-use plastic bag around his newspaper ‘‘and I have to tear it to get the newspaper out’’.
‘‘I have a bread bag that’s single use,’’ he added. ‘‘Every time I buy batteries, I have to pull them out of plastic.’’
There were also plastic milk bottles that he usually did not re-use.
‘‘So, I’ve really got a problem,’’ Sangster said. ‘‘Every motel I go into, they have a plastic bin liner. Are we then going to sell bags of plastic bags for people to buy because that’s what people are going to want still?’’
King said he did not have a problem with the submission but backed the point made by Sangster.
‘‘When you go to the supermarket, you come out with your six bags of stuff,’’ King said. ‘‘Inside those bags is way more plastic than the bags contain.’’
The packaging was a much more significant problem.
It was also a harder issue to tackle, which was why he believed the Government chose to focus on single-use plastic shopping bags.
‘‘It’s like a big publicity thing but actually, it’s not really addressing the problem per se,’’ King said.
The phasing out of plastic bags needed to be followed up or it would ‘‘just be a political statement’’.
Cr Dana Wensley took a different stance.
‘‘It’s been suggested that it’s just tokenism,’’ she said. ‘‘I don’t think it’s tokenism. I think, it’s about leadership.’’
The move was also about sending a message that there were alternatives.
‘‘I know the youth council is concerned with this,’’ Wensley said. ‘‘The youth council at Waimea was raising it and they’re very happy that we had taken it on as a council and they’ve taken impetus from this to go and look at their kiosk and spread the word.’’
Cr Dean McNamara pointed out that the council rubbish bags were plastic.
Waste management and minimisation asset engineer David Stephenson said there had been discussions around whether these bags were a longterm viable option.
‘‘Certainly rubbish bags are part of the issue but they’re a very small part of the issue,’’ Stephenson said. ‘‘They’re probably one of the more useful uses for plastic bags.’’
The Government’s proposal to phase out single-use plastic shopping bags was consistent with the objectives and policies of the draft Nelson Tasman Waste Management and Minimisation Plan, which was out for consultation.
‘‘We consider it is a good first step in terms of leadership from central government,’’ Stephenson said.
Submissions on the Government’s proposal closed at 5pm on Friday.