Legal loophole makes mockery of plastic bag ban
Retailers will still be allowed to sell heavier grade, more environmentally-harmful plastic shopping bags despite the
Government’s plastic bag ban because of a loophole in the regulations, National’s Environment spokesperson Scott Simpson
says.
“It’s another example of the Government not delivering on its promises. They like making grand gestures but are hopeless
when it comes to the detail.
“Documents from the Ministry for the Environment, supplied to me under the Official Information Act, show the Government
was warned back in March that its ban doesn’t cover so-called ‘emergency style’ plastic bags made from 55 micron LDPE
plastic.
“An example of these is the green and white bags that were being sold for 15c at Countdown supermarkets. They are
actually more harmful to the environment than the single-use bags that have been outlawed.
“These bags are exempt because they can be re-used 20 times, but officials told Associate Environment Minister Eugenie
Sage back in March that they shouldn’t be. They said plastic bags should be able to be re-used at least 55 times to pass
the multi-use test.
“Officials warned Ms Sage that most people would not hold on to these bags for re-use, and many would end up in
landfill. But rather than get tough with retailers she chose to just cross her fingers and hope they don’t start using
these heavier plastic bags.
“Countdown won’t sell their emergency bags from July 1, but Foodstuffs are apparently working on a heavier grade version
of their own. If more retailers follow their lead it will see even more plastic enter our landfills and marine
environment.
“We need to reduce the amount of plastic in our lives, but Ms Sage clearly doesn’t have the mettle to make this happen.”