Auckland Council to act on plastic bags

Auckland Council is set to lead the way on sustainability after it agreed to establish a working group to minimise the usage of single-use plastic bags in the Auckland region.

The decision, made by the Environment, Climate Change and Natural Heritage Committee, provides a basis for the development of an accord on how to minimise plastic bag and packaging waste. The group will be made up of interested retailers, consumer groups, industry representatives and communities.

It followed a report that investigated the options available to the council to reduce single-use plastic bags in the Auckland region. In addition, council will work internally to reduce use of the bags among council departments, and will also build on existing community initiatives.

Committee Chair Councillor Wayne Walker says that this is an important first step towards helping make Auckland more environmentally friendly.

“Single-use plastic bags are a well-known source of environmental pollution in our region. What we wanted to do was to look at ways to reduce their use in Auckland.

“The council is already making great strides tackling waste problems through the Waste Management and Minimisation Plan, and this working group will focus on the use of plastic bags and packaging within the region.

“We should be leading the way on this issue and I am also delighted that the committee agreed to look at ways council can reduce its use of plastic bags.

“We will now look to retailers and the communities around us to help get this group off the ground and help take even greater care of our precious environment.”

–ENDS-

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