Media release
 
11 March 2009
 
Waitakere mayor and retailers to meet to discuss overuse of plastic shopping bags
 
Waitakere Mayor Bob Harvey has invited his city’s retailers to attend a special early morning meeting tomorrow (March 12) to address "the indiscriminate use of plastic shopping bags".

Major supermarket groups Foodstuffs and Progressive Enterprises and petrol station chain Gull are amongst the retailers who will be attending the event.

Mayor Harvey is keen to bring together local retailers to talk about the environmental issues surrounding plastic shopping bags and to hear their thoughts and ideas on how these issues can best be addressed locally.

Attendees will also hear from leading Australian environmentalist Matt Cross - coordinator of the Huskisson Plastic Bag Free Campaign. Huskisson is a seaside town on the edge of New South Wales’ picturesque Jervis Bay and became Australia’s first mainland coastal plastic bag free town in 2003.

"There’s no doubt that plastic bags are an environmental concern, not only in Waitakere and New Zealand but also globally," Mayor Harvey says.

"We use more than 800 million supermarket bags a year in this country and the impact on our natural environment and our landfills is very evident."

Mayor Harvey, who has for many years volunteered his time to harbour clean-ups, says plastic bags account for about five percent of all rubbish removed from the Waitemata Harbour each year.

"Plastic bags that are thrown out on the streets are getting washed into rivers, streams and stormwater drains and out to our harbours, damaging our ecosystems and endangering our wildlife," he says.

"As an eco city, we can not stand by and let this sort of environmental pollution continue unchecked.

"While some retailers have taken steps to reduce their use and/or offer more environmentally-friendly alternatives, there’s so much more we could – and should – be doing."

A recent survey indicates that Waitakere residents are ready to support a local ‘plastic bag free’ initiative, with 80 percent agreeing that the council should be working with supermarkets to eliminate plastic bag usage.

A number of countries, cities and communities around the world have already taken action to deal with the issue and minimise the indiscriminate consumption of plastic bags. These actions range from imposing legislative bans on lightweight shopping bags (as done by South Australia, India and China) or levies on bags, to encouraging voluntary bans.

Some New Zealand communities have already taken a stand on plastic bags. In Wanaka, for example, a ‘Bag the Habit’ campaign has persuaded nearly half of its residents to kick the plastic bag habit and the town is still working towards a total plastic bag free zone. Nine New Zealand towns and cities are now also recycling supermarket and bread bags.

Waitakere’s Green Bay community declared itself plastic bag free in April last year. It was an environmental move promoted by the Green Bay Ratepayers and Residents Association (GBRRA) and the council and backed by all 24 retailers in the suburban shopping area.

Mayor Harvey is hoping that one of the main outcomes of tomorrow’s forum will be a commitment by Waitakere retailers to work towards a plastic shopping bag free Waitakere.

ENDS

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