Banning plastic bags

Comments

It's a shame we need to legislate to ban stuff like plastic bags. I just wish people would see the sense and do it of their own accord instead of someone having to make them do it.

Sometimes I like plastic bags - for example if I'm carrying groceries home in my backpack and I have something that would make a serious mess if it were to leak in there. I then re-use the bags to line my household rubbish bin (which I try to minimise anyway).

But I suppose realistically people aren't going to change their habits unless someone makes them do it, so legislation is necessary.

Submitted by Lindis on 19 August 2008 13:42:48

Ok here is a better explanation of the group from the site itself :)

www.noplasticbags.org.nz is a new grass roots website dedicated to a New Zealand free from plastic carry bags. Around the world more and more countries are banning or taxing plastic bags and it is time for New Zealand to wake up and do the same.

This is about much more than fixing the problems directly caused by plastic bags, it is about increasing the capacity of our society to change. Because very significant change is what is required to face the twin threats of climate change and peak oil.

It is not a campaign to eliminate plastic bags, it is a campaign to convince people to consider the consequences of their choices and to make personal changes that help build a vibrant future for us all.

Utilizing cutting edge online collaboration tools we can work together more effectively than ever before, so feel free to drop by our campaign centre at http://noplasticbags.ning.com and lend a hand. No matter how much time you can spare or what skills you can offer we would love to have you on board.

Submitted by Lulu on 24 August 2008 18:01:08

We bought the green cloth bags for groceries and now avoid plastic grocery bags. We had always recycled bags as bin liners etc but now realise that we end up buying bags for bin liners and for picking up our dog's poo. Paper bags just don't work the same. Perhaps we need to be looking at a plastic wood fibre mix to increase bio-degradability and reduce production of plastic.

Submitted by heathertre on 2 September 2008 09:37:04

Hi heathertre. Thanks for you comment and welcome to our site!

I avoid plastic bags at the supermarkets now and take my reusable ones when I go shopping. I'm still working through my old stockpile of plastic bags from when I switched, so I might face the same problems of what to use for my bin when I run out. I personally feel that even if people are just cutting down on the number of plastic bags they are using, it's still a benefit to the environment.

Submitted by Andrew on 2 September 2008 15:25:25

Why, oh why, can't we just make it mandatory for people to produce and use biodegradable plastic bags?? I buy biodegradable disposable nappies (used cloth only for my first child/ a mix of cloth and bio disposable for my second, but with number three I don't have time to faff about with cloth, so bio disposable are my best option) and they come in a biodegradable plastic wrap/bag which I put in my compost bin. For my shopping I use cardboard boxes because I shop in bulk once a fortnight, but find I have to buy the .10 cent bags from Pak N Save to line rubbish bins - so what is the answer for lining rubbish bins?? Any other plastic bags I get I either reuse or recycle. Any solution to the rubbish bin lining question would be appreciated....

Submitted by GreenGemini on 5 September 2008 13:36:58

Biodegradable plastic bags may not be the best option for several reasons.
Firstly, the vast majority are still made from crude oil. These break down into potentially harmful residues which remain in the environment. Depending on the composition of the plastic they can take anywhere from a couple of months to a few years to break down. This means marine animals will still eat them and die.

They do nothing to discourage the attitude of disposability. If we were to use biodegradable plastic bags at the same rate that we use normal plastic bags now (about 1 billion per year in NZ), we would probably end up with a bigger litter problem than we already have since many people would think it was ok to drop bags. There are bags that are made from cornstarch etc which are a possibility, but wouldn't that just have the same problems as we have with biofuels?

Modern plastic bags were only invented in the 1970's so surely we can cope without them, it wasn't that long ago that we had no choice! I think our society just needs to harden up and free itself of a bad habit. Before long we will wonder what all the fuss was about.

Submitted by pea308 on 5 October 2008 20:07:22

For the problem of lining your bin, Good Magazine has a simple solution. Assuming you compost all your food waste, your kitchen rubbish bin will most likely only contain dry items such as plastic packaging. This doesn't really need to be separated from the inside of your rubbish bin by a layer of plastic, so just let your rubbish bin "go naked". If you are worried you could line it with a piece of newspaper. When the bin's full just empty it into your big bin outside.
If you haven't started composting your kitchen waste yet they suggest buying completely biodegradable bags from Zero Waste New Zealand or Ecostore.

Submitted by pea308 on 5 October 2008 20:49:56

I compost as much as I can but what do I do with meat scraps? I can't put that in the compost because of attracting rats/neighbour's cat etc so it still has to go out in the rubbish. Eating meat seems to create more trouble than it is worth but unfortunately I doubt my husband agrees. Can meat scraps be fed to worm farms? What about bones/fat?

Submitted by anivre on 20 November 2008 16:48:42

hmmm... I would not suggest putting meat products in your worm bin, except perhaps in very tiny amounts - even then I think you would need to bury them under other scraps to avoid the rat/fly/smell issues.

Meat and meat products must be a big dilemma for a lot of households. Perhaps you could contact your local council waste-management department and ask if they have any suggestions? If there is an industrial-strength composter in your area, it may be able to accept meat scraps. Apparently they put whole possums in the one at Unitec here in Auckland... and there is nothing left (no skin, fur or bones) by the time it reaches the end of the composting process!

Submitted by Lindis on 23 November 2008 22:17:39

I think it's a great idea to ban plastic bags, one only needs to look along our beautiful coastlines littered with plastic bags and bottles to see that we're less than responsible when it comes to waste. I have recently returned from China, and was pleased to see that they have banned plastic bags over there. It is compulsory for shops to charge for plastic bags (and not cheap either!) so shoppers have gotten used to bringing their own, and "conservation (cloth) bags" have become quite trendy.

Sure plastic bags can be mighty handy sometimes especially with meat, but we can still learn to recycle/reduce bags that aren't necessary.

If China can do it, we certainly can!

Submitted by Joody on 25 November 2008 14:46:50

As an NZ'r (by adoption) currently living in the UK, I've looked with interest at what they do here:

Legislation (Climate Change Bill) has been passed enabling a Minister to charge a government levy on plastic carrier bags, to be used for environmental projects. The Bill comes into effect next month. However the "British Retail Consortium said it was opposed to the key proposals and claimed a voluntary agreement by 13 major stores to issue fewer plastic carriers was having significant effects.

Business environment director Jane Milne said: 'Since retailers are already delivering major change, with the help of their customers, why impose an unnecessary draconian tax?'"

For some time supermarkets here has sold cloth carrier bags, strong plastic carrier bags, and several sell "bags for life". This is a strongish plastic carrier, costs 20c, when it starts to get holes the supermarket replaces it free and recycles the old bag into new ones. That seems a good way to go. Tesco's also give a Green loyalty point for every time you reuse a bag for life.

When the bill was passed, the local Co-op (Co-operative Society supermarket) immediately stopped out giving free bags. This was very inconvenient for many people (including me; I use reusable bags or my rucksack, but not for meat or dairy goods, and don't always have one on me e.g if out for a walk and then remembering shopping needs...) We reuse disposable bags for lining the rubbish bin; necessary when disposing of excess fat/oil from grilling.

The kerbside recycling here takes plastic bags. Also they've just introduced food waste recycling, giving every house a small worktop caddy, and a larger lidded bin to put out. As we compost, the only food scraps we have are fish skin, chicken skin & bones and occasionally fat trimmings - not enough to dirty the bins with...

With all this, I still see lots of non-reusable carrier bags being carried out of supermarkets. I think charging for bags will have to come.

Personally, I think plastic bags are a great invention. I'd hate to go tramping/camping/skiing/sailing without them. But they should be reusable and recyclable, and charging may be the only way to make them valued by all.

cheers
Bill

Submitted by BillDash on 27 November 2008 15:30:27

Hi we are two school students from an Intermediate. Ignore the name - thats only one of us. We recently read an article about places which have banned plastic bags. We started a project to help NZ become Plastic-Bag-Free and were wondering if you guys could help us out. We have decided to create our campaign based solely on one company (in our case the local New World) and target it to convert it into a non-plastic bag company If we succeed then hopefully it might create a chain reaction to convert other super-markets. Therefore our first challenge is to convince this supermarket. Our best chance of doing this is with people power. If you are willing to help us I ask you to do 2 things.

1) See if you can help ease the workload - this is going to be a lot of work.
2) Make a petition - if we can get enough signatures we might just convince them.

Then get as many people as you can to sign the petition - scan it and send it to this address...

sgwilliams@ihug.co.nz

Thankyou for reading

PLEASE REPLY PROMPTLY

Note: if you are willing to help us out - there is a copy of the petition we will be using on the following site...

http://noplasticbags.ning.com/forum/topic/show?id=2165502%3ATopic%3A2245

Submitted by sgwilliams on 5 December 2008 09:39:12

Reality check - why do you think plastic bags came to life in the first place? Convenience. The paper bags were diabolical. Breaking when wet, or over loaded. The same reason for getting ride of glass milk bottles and replacing them with plastic. We no longer live in the 30s where everything manufactured was designed for life. We live in a disposable environment that is not going to change.

Adding tax or cost to everything doesn't help at all. It just increases revenue to government pockets and creates added expense to people who can't or will not prioritise it.

When something doesn't work out the minority response is BAN it. This solves nothing as the majority response is to ignore it.

There needs to be a realistic push for development of truly recyclable and compostible replacements not just of plastic bags but of all packaging including government support and subsidising for businesses that create or use these products.

Of all products plastic bags are the most diverse in usability. From food carriers to wearing them over your head (yes over your head, not face. Big difference.)or shoes as rain protectors in an emergency. Bin liners, poop pickerupers to make shift nappy wrappers. The amount of different uses is unlimited.

So... instead of singing BAN, TAX, COST. Sing DEVELOP, DE-COMPOSTIBLE, ENCOURAGE. Because at the end, regardless of how many times you use it, it all ends up on the heap.

Submitted by shelleytee on 21 January 2009 22:59:47

Oh and by the way. The whole reason Linux is not as wide spread as Windows is for the shear fact that geeks refuse to dummy proof their interface like Windows does.

Regardless of how righteous your coarse, keeping it simple and flooding the market is what counts.

Submitted by shelleytee on 21 January 2009 23:04:17

Plastic bags are extremely useful and in many areas of use would be hard to replace. Plastic bags do not need to be an evironmental issue and their manufacture is often misunderstood. Plastic bags are produced from byproducts of both the gas and oil industry. If these byproducts were not converted into a useable product, they would be burnt of during the manufacture of petrol and household gas and go directly into the atmosphere.

Rather as suggested by pea308 oxo biodegradable plastic bags such as the Green-one www.thegreenone.co.nz give of no methane when degrading and leave no harfull residue. They will start to break down in about 18 months and in almost any environment and are also recyclable.

Paper bags and corstartch bags can take much longer to break down and require trees or valuable agricultural farmland for their production. Both of these options also produce methane gas during the degrading proccess. 

Submitted by Adam Boot on 1 February 2010 14:38:17

I avoid plastic bags at the supermarkets now and take my reusable ones when I go shopping. I'm still working through my old stockpile of plastic bags from when I switched, so I might face the same problems of what to use for my bin when I run out.

Submitted by yasi on 12 February 2010 05:19:00

Bio-Degradable bags are a joke, sure there is an application for bio-degradable products but kitchen and rubbish bags are far from it.

The number of bags on the market at the moment advertising themselves as Bio-Degradable or Oxo-Biodegradable is alarming. Especially considering they don't actually work in a landfill or rubbish dump. The additive in these bags requires UV-Light and or Heat for degredation to occur, furthermore this only happens in the presence of oxygen which is absent in all but approximatly the top 20cm of landfills. Experts in landfill construction and management actually prefer a landfill that is deviod of oxygen as it means that the rubbish does not biodegrade which means the ground remains stable. Adam boot is corrent in saying that these bags do not produce methane (if) they degrade, they in fact produce CO2........ (I should not that in my investigation of Bio and Oxo-Bio degradable Bags I've come across this Adam Boot person before, He works for Pacrite on the North Shore who produce the "Green-one" plastic bags.... maybe this is why he defends them so)

Marketing bags as bio degradable just results in a throw away mentality, people feel that in buying degradable bags they arn't doing harm to the enviroment and so they buy more and are more careless in the disposal of the bags.

To this point the only bags that have been proven to degrade in multiple and realistic enviroments are those made of cornstarch, other than that I would suggest reusing cloth bags or boxes as at pak-n-save.

Submitted by james.taylor250 on 9 March 2010 14:57:19