Press Release 13/4/07

Group raise National Petition to stop supermarket plastic bags!

“Kiwi PlasticBag Concern” has started their second campaign wave after a successful survey and press conference with the Green Party. The survey done in February, found that over half (56%) the survey respondents’ plastic bags handed out from supermarkets were unnecessary. 80% of New Zealanders believe supermarket chains should be doing more to cut down on the number of plastic bags they give out, and 90% of survey participants believed that a supermarket charge for every bag would dramatically cut down the current excessive bag uses. Nowadays, New Zealanders waste 1.14billion of petroleum based plastic bags every year, which equates to each person using 1 bag a day.

The concern group is very disappointed that the two large supermarket enterprises have not replied to their customer survey and environmental suggestions, instead they hide behind their commitment to the non-effective voluntary New Zealand Packaging Accord which only targetted to reduce 20% of usage in 4 years, compared with Australia which had “tough” reduction targets of 25% in 2 years and 50% in 3 years using a standard auditing system for monitoring. It shows that the New Zealand commercial sector is not taking their corporate social or environmental responsibility seriously and is in great danger of ruining the “clean and green” kiwi image.

PlasticBag Concern Group Getting Strong

After the survey press conference, successfully held 2 months ago, the group convener Angus Ho toured around New Zealand and made contact with different Green Groups who are also concerned about plastic bags and are campaigning on the same issue. These local groups are active in many ways - like Kaikorua, trying to establish a plastic bag free district, Wanaka with a series of plastic bag reduction campaigns for over 1 year and the Alexandra Wastebusters who will form a volunteer group to cooperate with local supermarket to reduce plastic bags and the Nelson’s Green Teens who are working to hold a No Plastic Bag Week with the supermarkets in their area. Wanaka Wastebusters and Sustainable Wanaka also joins the Kiwi PlasticBag Concern alliance, while they will try to line up with national green groups like Zero Waste, Green Peace etc

The Concern Group now starts an online petition campaign to get all kiwi shoppers to urge supermarkets to set up practical policies to reward “green shoppers” using their own bags/boxes and to cut down the unnecessary plastic bags and improve New Zealand’s environment. . View the on line petition at www.plasticshoppingbagfree.org.nz/index.php?PageID=80

Convenor Angus Ho said “It was a very successful trip since I found different people and groups have already started their own campaigns, now it is important to group these forces and shoppers together to urge the supermarkets to take their Cooperate Social Responsibility seriously and reduce their wasteful ways.” The group aim to collect over thousands of signatures and urge the supermarket top management to face the problem and give the customers what they want. Angus said: “I am very disappointed that the two supermarket enterprises have not responded to their customers or the customer survey results - rather they stick to the tiny 20% reduction by 2008 set out in the 2004 Packaging Accord , whilst the Australia have achieved their tougher target of a 25% reduction in only 2 years.

Start New Zealand Sustainability from plastic bag reduction
While the Prime Minster commits New Zealand to achieve sustainability, the group urges the government and people to start living a sustainable life by using fewer plastic bags. In only 30 years since they were introduced in the 1970’s plastic bags have become such a part of our daily life that people have come to believe that they need them. Many alternatives are available – newspaper, cardboard boxes, cloth bags, baskets etc. By changing wasteful habits, by shopping with their own reusable bags, people become aware of the natural resources they are consuming in their life and how they can live sustainability.

Kiwi PlasticBag Concern congratulates Bunnings Warehouse who have just announced they will take the retail lead to reduce plastic bags usage in NZ. They will start charging for plastic bags in the 2nd half of this year and eliminate all plastic bags in 2008. The Concern Group welcomes their initiatives. It demonstrates that NZ retailers can do a lot more to reduce the numbers of plastic bags they give out free and encourage and reward shoppers to use their own bags. Angus Ho hopes the other retailers will follow Bunnings’ lead and start implementing significant policies to reduce plastic bags.

In Hong Kong this month, government will introduce the first producer responsibility legislation by putting a levy on every plastic bag. Ireland and Tai Wan have already implemented a plastic bag levy and have successfully reduced their plastic bag numbers by 90% and 75% respectively. Denmark, Germany, France, Netherlands and others also have legislation on plastic bag levies. South Africa, Indonesia and Bangladesh have banned certain kinds of plastic bag to reduce excess use. New Zealand is lagging far behind on the plastic bags issue internationally. Kiwi PlasticBag Concern urges the people to bring their own bags and refuse to use plastic bags and join the online petition.

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