Time to charge for plastic bags: Goff
Mayoral candidate Phil Goff says if he becomes mayor he wants to make Auckland shoppers pay for using supermarket plastic bags.
He says last year the United Kingdom introduced an equivalent 10 cent charge on all plastic bags used in supermarkets, with exceptions for some goods such as meat, fish and vegetables.
‘‘The result was an 85 percent reduction in plastic bag use,’’ he says.
‘‘This is replicated in cities around the world which have taken this action. We need to do the same.’’
‘‘Aucklanders use hundreds of millions of plastic bags each year. They are used on average for 12 minutes before they enter the waste stream as nonbiodegradable rubbish.’’
Although charging for plastic bags cannot be introduced through bylaws, Goff says as mayor he will work with MPs to promote change through a Local Bill in Parliament.
‘‘Waiheke Island with its new Countdown supermarket is already leading the way with requiring reusable or compostable bags.’’
Pam Waugh, head of the Salvation Army food banks, says it supports the change but acknowledges it may add to the
‘‘Aucklanders use hundreds of millions of plastic bags each year. They are used on average for 12 minutes before they enter the waste stream as nonbiodegradable rubbish’’
Phil Goff
pinch for some families.
‘‘Obviously every bit of extra pressure on a household’s budget can be hard but at the same time we all have to make caring for the environment a concern and a priority,’’ she says.
‘‘Our stewardship effects not only ourselves, but future generations.’’
Waugh says if a cost is put on plastic bags the Salvation Army will work with anyone who needs help budgeting in the fee.
She says a tangible way to help others cope with the cost is to donate reusable bags to food banks.
The plastic bag charge announcement was included in Goff’s wider environmental policy.