New Zealanders use 1.6 billion plastic bags each year. The whole world must know about the problem of plastic getting into the ocean and the effect this is having on sea animals. What is New Zealand doing about this?
For some background, you could listen to Plastic Bags and Countdown Will Stop Using Plastic Bags .
Now 10 Countdown stores in New Zealand have stopped using plastic bags and the others will stop at the end of the year. Meanwhile, Fresh Choice in Nelson, is using small paper bags for their fruit and vegetables, and baked goods. They will charge 15c for a large paper bag at the checkout. Shoppers are encouraged to bring a reusable bag to the supermarket instead.
Soft plastic bags can be recycled at most supermarkets. Anything small enough to scrunch in your hand into a ball is called soft plastic. Last year, 91 million soft plastic bags were processed in Australia into usable products like garden seats. The company collecting these bags hopes that New Zealand will be able to do this processing soon.
The Warehouse will move to compostable plastic bags, at a cost of 15c a bag, by the end of the year. Shoppers can continue to use old cardboard cartons which are stacked near the checkout for reuse.
Compostable plastic bags, made of corn starch, break down in 3 to 6 months at a special compostable facility. They don’t compost in your own garden compost heap. If they are thrown in the landfill by mistake, they release methane gas, just like plastic bags and this could contribute to climate change. You might also question if it is acceptable to use a food-based product for a wrapping which is thrown away.
Vocabulary
scrunch (v) – to push into a small size