New Zealand becomes first country to ban thin plastic bags from supermarkets

The new ban on thin bags will eliminate 150 million plastic produce bags from circulation each year.

 This week, New Zealand became the first country to officially ban all single-use plastic that supermarket customers use to collect their fruit and vegetables.

The move is part of a bigger campaign against single-use plastics. In a bid to reduce plastic waste, the government mandated a ban on thick plastic single-use shopping bags in 2019. It led to most customers bringing their own reusable tote bags to stores.

Under the new rules, plastic bags will still be allowed for some fruits and vegetables. For instance, fresh produce that comes already bagged, sealed or unsealed before they are displayed for sale.

However, the plastic packaging must be part of the original packaging and not added later. For example, bags of salad greens, apples, potatoes, sugar snap peas, or herbs are exempt from the ban.

Those found flouting the rules will be penalized up to NZ$100,000 (US$61,720) per offence.

 According to official figures, each New Zealander approximately sends more than three-quarters of a ton of waste to landfills every year.

The 2019 bag ban removed more than 1 billion plastic bags from being used in New Zealand, and the new ban on thin bags will eliminate 150 million plastic produce bags from circulation each year.

Officials also addressed concerns about whether the latest ban would help the environment much if customers simply swapped plastic with disposable paper bags to collect their fruit and vegetables.

“The answer was still yes, it’s still worth doing this, but we really want to reduce single-use anything packaging,” associate environment minister Rachel Brooking said.

 “So we want people to be bringing their own bags, and supermarkets are selling reusable produce bags.”

The Countdown supermarket chain has started encouraging customers to use cotton, cloth, tote or mesh produce bags.

While paper bags are available, they are intended to be a last resort.

 Plastic bans worldwide

Although New Zealand has become the first country to outlaw the use of plastic bags, it isn’t the only one to crack down on plastic use.

Earlier this year the British government confirmed its plans to implement a ban on single-use plastics in England, in line with Scotland and Wales. The ban applies to disposable plastic cutlery, trays and plates for food service uses, but not in supermarkets and other settings.

The country banned single-use plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds previously in 2020.

As of 2021, eight US states including California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, New York, Oregon and Vermont, had passed rulings that stopped stores from providing single-use plastic shopping bags.

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