Our single-use plastic problem
The plastic bag’s days are numbered in New Zealand, as the Government plans to phase them out over the next year. But what about all the other single-use plastic littering the country?
Sustainable Coastlines, which the Government cites in its bag ban consultation document, removed 1,732,991 items from New Zealand’s beaches from December 2010 to April 2016.
Of that, 77 per cent was singleuse plastic. Plastic bags were about the fifth most common item found, making up 8.2 per cent of the rubbish. ‘‘Plastic of unknown origin’’, other single-use plastic products, food wrappers/containers and bottle caps/lids were all more prevalent.
The Ministry for the Environment called the plastic bag ban a ‘‘first step to addressing the ‘throwaway culture’ of a linear economy’’. But it is not looking at a wider single-use plastic ban as a second step.
‘‘Globally and here in New Zealand, businesses are already taking action to reduce their use of single use plastics – not only plastic bags but plastic packaging and items such as plastic straws and plastic-stemmed cotton buds,’’ a spokesperson said.
‘‘New Zealanders can call on the stores, brands and food outlets they buy from to take further action and use their buying power to vote with their wallets.’’ Action was being taken, however.
The Government brought together 13 local and multinational companies to sign the New Zealand Plastic Packaging Declaration in June, committing them to using 100 per cent reusable, recyclable or compostable packaging by 2025 as part of efforts to reduce single-use plastic reliance. It was also working with councils and industry ‘‘to find ways to ensure the products we produce and consume are designed to be reused, recycled into something new, or composted after use’’.
Greenpeace Oceans Campaigner Emily Hunter said that while the plastic bag ban was a great start, the other polluting plastics still needed to be dealt with. ‘‘Greenpeace is working on a comprehensive action plan to help New Zealand tackle those head on.
‘‘A big announcement on this subject is planned for next Wednesday,’’ she said.
Sustainable Coastlines cofounder Camden Howitt said single-use plastic bags were the ‘‘poster child’’ for plastic waste.
While banning them was a good first step, more needed to be done to solve the problem.
Plastic pollution was extremely damaging to the environment, and it would take a change of attitude from Kiwis to address the problem, he said.
New Zealanders cared about the environment, yet many were happy to dump rubbish in waterways, he said. The litter problem was so bad that plastic was being found inside supermarket fish and in tap water.
‘‘We’re surrounded by it ... the fact of the matter is we can’t go to a beach in this country where there’s not plastic.’’