Challenge Aims to Cut Plastic Checkout Bag Use

Ruapehu District Council (RDC) and New World have joined up to encourage shoppers to use less plastic checkout bags.

The ‘Reusable Grocery Bag Challenge’ gives shoppers at New World in Ohakune and Taumarunui who spend over $30 the chance to win one of two weekly $50 New World vouchers just for packing their groceries into a reusable bag.

RDC Waste Minimisation Officer, Steve Carson, said that New Zealanders are currently using over a billion plastic checkout bags every year.

“For most people their use of a plastic checkout bag lasts as long as it takes to get from the shops to their home.”

“Plastic bags however can take up to 1,000 years to breakdown in the environment,” he said.

“With an estimated 40,000 plastic checkout bags being dumped into NZ landfills every hour they pose a significant environmental challenge albeit one everyone can easily help alleviate just by remembering to take along reusable bags next time they go shopping.”

Mr Carson said Council and New World would like people to think about their use of plastic checkout bags and to start regularly taking along reusable bags when they go shopping.

“Even if people use a combination of reusable bags and plastic bags it will make a big difference.”

ENDS

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