New Zealand will strive to live up to its ‘clean green’ reputation by phasing out most single-use plastics by 2025.
The ban will crack down on cotton buds, packaging, bags, bowls, plates and cutlery and will be implemented from the beginning of 2022.
The move comes after Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern vowed to rid the country of plastic cutlery, single-use coffee cups and fruit stickers in September last year.
The move comes after Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (pictured) vowed to rid the country of plastic cutlery, single-use coffee cups and fruit stickers in September last year
Officials hope the crackdown will remove more than two billion single-use plastic items from the country’s environment and landfill each year
The new policy means businesses will have less than five years to find substitutes for everyday items like disposable cups and lids, straws and drink stirrers.
New Zealand is currently one of the top ten per-capita producers of landfill in the world, making the ‘clean green’ country actually one of the highest waste generators.
Environment Minister David Parker said every day New Zealanders were throwing away an estimated 159 grams of plastic waste per person.
The bans, which will be implemented between 2022 and 2025, would ‘ensure we live up to our clean, green reputation’, Mr Parker said.
Officials hope the crackdown will remove more than two billion single-use plastic items from the country’s environment and landfill each year.
While New Zealand already forbid the use of plastic bags in 2019, the new policy will focus attention on packaging for produce and a series of other items.
While New Zealand already forbid the use of plastic bags in 2019, the new policy will focus attention on packaging for produce and a series of other items
The ban will crack down on cotton buds, packaging, bags, bowls, plates and cutlery and will be phased in from the start from 2022
Associate Professor Terri-Ann Berry, the director of the Environmental Solutions Research Centre at Unitec said the bans were a good first step.
The professor said that while highlighting the amount of household waste was important, the country’s commercial sectors still had a lot to answer for.
Construction and demolition continue to be big users of plastic, accounting for up to 50 per cent of landfill waste across the country.
The government will then set its sights on eliminating single-use coffee cups and wet wipes with work to devise alternatives to begin in 2022.
A fund for businesses to research substitutes for single-ban plastics will also be available to encourage the boycotting of single-use plastic.
In September last year, New Zealand’s prime minister Jacinda Ardern announced her zero-waste policy and pledged $50million to research plastic alternatives
In September last year, prime minister Jacinda Ardern announced her zero-waste policy and pledged $50million to research plastic alternatives.
The Labour leader accelerated the ban after she received a series of letters from young schoolchildren who expressed concern over plastic waste.
About $3million was previously given to packaging company Pact to develop a range of recycled food packaging for deli foods, meats and bakery trays at its Auckland location.
The move comes as Australia’s environment ministers work to phase out a range of ‘problematic and unnecessary’ plastic products over the next four years.
A comprehensive list of plastic items the ministers want eliminated by 2025 was announced in April after the states chased differing bans on products.
In February, supermarket giant Coles announced it would soon stop selling single-use plastic tableware and cutlery from July 1
South Australia was the first in Australia to ban single-use plastics in March only to be closely followed by Victoria and Western Australia.
Queensland and the ACT have also passed laws to ban plastic products, with Tasmania and the Northern Territory committed to phasing items out by 2025.
In February, supermarket giant Coles announced it would soon stop selling single-use plastic tableware and cutlery from July 1.
Coles customers will no longer be able to purchase plastic products such as cups, plates, bowls, straws and cutlery from the popular chain.
The ban on plastics is predicted to reduce 1.5 million tonnes of the material ending up in landfill each year.