Explainer - The next phase of the government's single use plastics ban begins 1 July, and may change some of the ways you shop. RNZ is here with what you need to know.

Here are the changes as of 1 July:

  • The manufacture, sale or distribution of single-use plastic produce bags, plates, bowls, and cutlery will be banned.
  • Single-use plastic straws will be restricted. Some businesses or organisations will still be able to provide them to disabled people and those with health needs.
  • A transition to compostable plastic produce labels by 2025 will begin.

More info at the Ministry for the Environment: https://environment.govt.nz/what-you-can-do/campaigns/bans-on-single-use-and-hard-to-recycle-plastic-items/

    • DaveOPMA
      3·
      1 year ago

      We aren’t quite. From the list here: https://environment.govt.nz/publications/plastic-products-banned-from-july-2023/#non-home-compostable-plastic-produce-labels

      • The regulations do not apply to produce labelled prior to 1 July 2023 and already in the supply chain.
      • The label adhesive (glue) is not required to be home compostable until 1 July 2025. Globally, label manufacturers are working to develop a home compostable adhesive. This is expected to be available by 2025.
      • Labels used on imported produce are not required to be home compostable until 1 July 2025. This will avoid the cost of delabelling produce and gives other countries time to move to home compostable labels.
    • MaungaHikoiEnglish
      3·
      1 year ago

      Yeah those are a pain, I keep finding them in my compost bin.

  • Aaron
    5·
    1 year ago

    We recycle our soft plastics, and I’m amazed at how much we use for the kids’ school lunches. Our school does litter free lunches, so I unwrap everything at home: muesli bars, fruit bars, lollies, as well as things to make sandwiches: blocks of cheese, lunch meats from the deli, bread… it’s all wrapped in plastic.

    Wasn’t there a push for using paper or some other biodegradable for bread recently? We got rid of the plastic bread clips/jandal repair kits.

    I personally feel like I use so little plastic for fruit/veg… I just put them in my shopping bag like everything else, and some of it comes in a bag already if I’m at countdown or the like. One thing I don’t see getting rid of plastic is the deli in the grocery or the butcher… unless I start bringing glassware with me.

    • DaveOPMA
      3·
      1 year ago

      We recycle our soft plastics, and I’m amazed at how much we use for the kids’ school lunches.

      I try to limit plastic in school lunches but I’m always keen for ideas!

      But often the stuff you put in can come in a bigger bag. One big bulk plastic bag is a lot less plastic than individually wrapped things (especially when the individually wrapped things are themselves in a bag). I try not to do muesli bars too often, but if you’re keen you can make your own.

      One thing I don’t see getting rid of plastic is the deli in the grocery or the butcher… unless I start bringing glassware with me.

      Pre-COVID Countdown started advertising bring your own deli container, but then they stopped it during COVID and I never heard about it again. Did they start again?

      • Aaron
        3·
        1 year ago

        I was thinking about it the other day when making lunches, but honestly I don’t think I would make the fruit bars and muesli bars. I’m not a great food prep/cook type person, and I doubt I’d put in the energy/practice required to get better. It may just come down to not using the boxed and then individually wrapped things like we do currently.

        Yeah I haven’t seen anything on bringing deli containers, I was just saying it would need to be that way to avoid deli and butcher single use plastics. I bet I could do it at countdown… they’d just need to tare the scale with my glassware before putting the product in it instead of the plastic bag. I haven’t tried.

        • DaveOPMA
          3·
          1 year ago

          I was thinking about it the other day when making lunches, but honestly I don’t think I would make the fruit bars and muesli bars.

          I’ve done it a few times and to be honest they don’t really come out like store bought, I wasn’t a fan. I normally do sandwiches, fruit, and something like crackers and cheese or occasionally some chips. My kids have lunch boxes their grandmother got them that have 4 compartments that sort of individually seal, so I can put chopped up kiwifruit in one and chips in another and don’t have to worry about them mixing.

          I bet I could do it at countdown

          I haven’t tried in a while, we don’t often get deli stuff, but I tried a few times I think about 18 months ago, and it seemed to depend on the staff member. They would consult with each other and sometimes they would say they aren’t doing it at the moment and sometimes they would decide it was ok. We are a bit further along the living with COVID path so maybe they would be more likely now.

    • Ozymati
      2·
      1 year ago

      Before plastic deli and butcher used wax paper. They can again.

      • DaveOPMA
        3·
        1 year ago

        One thing to be careful with is that wax paper these days often is made with a plastic coating. Plastic is really ingrained in our lives.

  • Fizz
    5·
    1 year ago

    Amazing, I’ve been wanting this implemented for ages.

  • lordp
    3·
    1 year ago

    The supermarket I work at took away the produce bags a couple of weeks ago and so many people were utterly unprepared for it. Last week the bags had returned.