CLEANER NATIONS
Experts say by 2050 there’s going to be more plastic in the sea than fish, so is New Zealand doing enough to clean up its act? In New Zealand, takeaway packaging litters beaches, drains and roads, and fines are rarely issued.
So, how do they deal with it overseas? In Japan, a pride in public spaces means people litter extremely rarely, and in Calgary, Kigali and Singapore there are strict fines for littering.
A single-use plastic bag ban is near in New Zealand, but some say we lag behind. South Africa’s ban was in 2003, and France banned free plastic bags at grocery stores in 2016.
France has also passed a law that says all plastic plates, cups and utensils will be banned by 2020, but in New Zealand stores, individually plastic-wrapped bread buns are normal, and plastic utensils wrapped in plastic are too.
Forest & Bird has said New Zealand seas are the riskiest in the world for seabirds as they consume plastic rubbish.
Sustainable Coastlines cofounder Camden Howitt called New Zealand ‘‘one of the worst
consumers of waste in the world’’. It was lagging behind ‘‘on a range of different levels’’.
So how are some cities in Japan, Switzerland and Sweden kept so spotlessly clean?
Howitt said he lived in Japan for nine years. Apartment blocks would have their own recycling bin collection system with bins for specific types of plastic.
‘‘Each item has to be cleaned before you put it in to the bin. A sushi container would be washed like you’re going to use it again. It was very strict.’’
Victoria University senior lecturer in Japanese Dr Dennitza Gabrakova said in Japan, children were taught how to clean their school. There was a sense of community, which provided a perception everyone was monitored, she said.
‘‘People don’t want to do anything to attract negative attention.’’
Unlike New Zealand, there were few rubbish bins. Most people would take their rubbish with them back to their home or office, she said.
There was a pride in public spaces. ‘‘It’s very difficult to litter in a place which is already very clean.’’
Howitt said while visiting France he had not noticed plastic bags in any stores.
In Mexico, he said he noted a widely-used container deposit legislation – a refundable fee to the price of drinks and other items.
‘‘We could certainly learn from that. It’s been proven time and time again that it works.’’
Bottle deposit schemes have emerged worldwide as a way to keep plastic out of the environment – but New Zealand doesn’t have one. Australia will have them in all states by the end of 2018, and Germany has a 98 per cent recycling rate on plastic bottles already.
Kiwi Bottle Drive campaign co-ordinator Holly Dove wants the same scheme in New Zealand, and said it would decrease litter and stop plastic entering waterways.
Associate Minister for the Environment Eugenie Sage said ‘‘we can do better and we should’’.