Single-use plastic shopping bags are banned in New Zealand from today. File photo / Reuters

New Zealand officially banned single-use plastic shopping bags on Monday, introducing hefty fines for businesses that continue to provide them.

Plastic pollution has become a growing global concern, with a million birds and more than 100,000 marine mammals injured or killed every year by becoming entangled in packaging or ingesting it through the food chain.

Companies that break New Zealand’s ban will face heavy penalties, including fines of up to NZ$100,000 ($67,000).

“New Zealanders are proud of our country’s clean, green reputation and want to help ensure we live up to it,” Environment Minister Eugenie Sage said.

“Ending the use of single-use plastic shopping bags helps do that.”

Under the new rules, thin plastic single-use shopping bags can no longer be supplied — but the law allows reusable carriers to continue being provided.

The legislation — which was announced in August last year and came into force on Monday — will have little practical effect, as New Zealand’s major supermarkets have already voluntarily banned the bags.

However, Sage said it was putting the issue of recycling on the agenda.

“(The ban) doesn’t go far enough, but what is really great is it’s started the conversation,” she told Radio New Zealand.

“People are now talking about single-use plastics and how we can phase them out.”

More than 80 countries have already introduced similar bans, according to the UN Environment Programme.

Agence France-Presse </s> New Zealand officially banned single-use plastic shopping bags Monday, introducing hefty fines for businesses that continue to provide them. Plastic pollution has become a growing global concern, with a million birds and more than 100,000 marine mammals injured or killed every year by becoming entangled in packaging or ingesting it through the food chain. Companies that break New Zealand's ban will face heavy penalties, including fines of up to NZ$100,000 ($67,000).

"New Zealanders are proud of our country's clean, green reputation and want to help ensure we live up to it," Environment Minister Eugenie Sage said. "Ending the use of single-use plastic shopping bags helps to do that." Under the new rules, thin plastic single-use shopping bags can no longer be supplied - but the law allows reusable carriers to continue being provided. The legislation, which was announced in August last year and came into force on Monday, will have little practical effect, as New Zealand's major supermarkets have already voluntarily banned the bags. However, Sage said it was putting the issue of recycling on the agenda. "(The ban) doesn't go far enough, but what is really great is it's started the conversation," she told Radio New Zealand. "People are now talking about single-use plastics and how we can phase them out."

More than 80 countries have already introduced similar bans, according to the U.N. Environment Program. Earlier this year, Turkey took a big step to stop plastic waste and began selling plastic bags for a fee. Within the first three months of the regulation, Turkey managed to decrease 80 percent of the plastic bag use. An estimated 5 trillion plastic bags are used worldwide every year and they mainly contribute to maritime pollution as some 8 million tons of plastic, including bags are dumped into the ocean every year, killing marine life and entering the human food chain, according to a United Nations report on the issue. </s> New Zealand officially banned single-use plastic shopping bags Monday, introducing hefty fines for businesses that continue to provide them

Wellington, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - APP - 1st Jul, 2019 ) :New Zealand officially banned single-use plastic shopping bags Monday, introducing hefty fines for businesses that continue to provide them.

Plastic pollution has become a growing global concern, with a million birds and more than 100,000 marine mammals injured or killed every year by becoming entangled in packaging or ingesting it through the food chain.

Companies that break New Zealand's ban will face heavy penalties, including fines of up to NZ$100,000 ($67,000).

"New Zealanders are proud of our country's clean, green reputation and want to help ensure we live up to it," environment minister Eugenie Sage said.

"Ending the use of single-use plastic shopping bags helps do that." Under the new rules, thin plastic single-use shopping bags can no longer be supplied -- but the law allows reusable carriers to continue being provided.

The legislation -- which was announced in August last year and came into force on Monday -- will have little practical effect, as New Zealand's major supermarkets have already voluntarily banned the bags.

However, Sage said it was putting the issue of recycling on the agenda.

"(The ban) doesn't go far enough, but what is really great is it's started the conversation," she told Radio New Zealand.

"People are now talking about single-use plastics and how we can phase them out." Britain's Royal Statistical Society estimates 90.5 percent of all plastic waste -- some 6,300 million metric tons -- has never been recycled and is either in landfill or accumulating in the natural environment.

If current production and waste management trends continue, the ocean of plastic waste is estimated to almost double to 12,000 million metric tons by 2050.

More than 80 countries have already introduced bag bans similar to New Zealand's, according to the UN Environment Programme.

While it praised such initiatives, it said more needed to be done to minimise other sources of plastic waste including microbeads and single-use items such as straws.

Canada last month announced plans to ban disposable plastic items such as straws, cutlery and stir sticks from 2021.

The Pacific nation of Vanuatu will implement a ban in December on disposable diapers, which not only have non-biodegradable plastic linings but also use chemical absorbents which leach into the environment.

Sage said the New Zealand government was committing NZ$40 million ($27 million) to find ways to reuse plastic waste instead of sending it to landfill overseas.

"We have been sending our waste offshore for too long," she said.

"China and other countries refusing to take our waste is the wake-up call we need."The issue of wealthy developed nations using poorer countries as trash dumps was highlighted this week when Canada had to accept back tonnes of rubbish it shipped to the Philippines years ago.

For years, China received the bulk of scrap plastic from around the world, but closed its doors to foreign refuse last year in an effort to clean up its environment. </s> Draconian new powers outlawing single-use plastic bags come into force in New Zealand on Monday with retailers facing a fine of up to £52,000 (NZ$100,000) if they hand them to customers.

The ban encompasses not only lightweight plastic bags, but also thicker versions handed out by department stores and even "environmentally friendly" biodegradable and compostable options. However, it will be left to shoppers themselves to police the law and report offenders.

Underpinning the ban is the determination of the government in Wellington to cut the amount of plastic ending up in rivers and oceans in order to minimise the threat faced by vulnerable seabirds, fish and other marine mammals.

Plastic bags are now outlawed in more than 40 countries.

The New Zealand ban was announced by Jacinda Ardern, the country's Prime Minister, last year. "Every year in New Zealand we use hundreds of millions of single-use plastic bags," she said. </s> WELLINGTON (XINHUA) - Single-use plastic bags are officially banned for all New Zealand retailers from Monday (July 1).

As stipulated by the Waste Minimisation (Plastic Shopping Bags) Regulations 2018, which came into force on Monday, New Zealand retailers including stores, supermarkets and restaurants will no longer be able to sell or distribute any single-use plastic shopping bags.

Single-use plastic shopping bags are defined as any plastic bag which has handles and is less than 70 microns thick. Plastic shopping bags in the fruit and vegetable section and other areas of supermarkets are the only exceptions.

New Zealand Associate Environment Minister Eugenie Sage said that the ban on single-use plastic shopping bags is a step towards healthier oceans and giving nature a hand.

"New Zealanders are proud of our country's clean, green reputation and want to help ensure we live up to it. The plastic shopping bag ban is one step to tackle New Zealand's waste issues. We also need to recharge our materials recovery and recycling systems and shift to a circular economy," Ms Sage said.

Mainstream supermarkets have already made the change away from single-use plastic shopping bags. Businesses were given six months ahead of the ban to phase-out single-use plastic bags. </s> New Zealand is joining a growing number of countries banning single-use plastic shopping bags.

"The ban should ensure less plastic ends up in rivers, streams, stormwater systems and the ocean so seabirds, fish, turtles, and marine mammals are less vulnerable to being harmed by it," Associate Environment Minister Eugenie Sage said in a statement on Sunday.

The new regulations that come into force on Monday apply to any type of plastic less than 70 microns in thickness, that's new or un-used, has carry handles and is provided for carrying sold goods.

It also includes bags that are made from bio-based materials like starch, and made of plastics that are degradable, biodegradable or oxo-degradable.

Mainstream supermarkets have already switched from single-use plastic shopping bags since Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the legislation last August.

More than 100 jurisdictions, including Belgium, France, Italy, China have already implemented an outright ban on single-use plastic bags, while others have introduced a levy or charge. </s> Time is up for the single-use plastic shopping bag, with the Government implementing a ban on Monday.

Associate Environment Minister Eugenie Sage says ending their use is a step towards "healthier oceans and giving nature a hand".
• Why your reusable shopping bag isn't better than a single-use plastic one
• Banning plastic bags may be good PR, but are we actually helping the environment?

"New regulations mean such businesses can no longer provide their customers with a single-use plastic shopping bag to carry their purchases," she said on Sunday.

"The ban should ensure less plastic ends up in rivers, streams, stormwater systems and the ocean so seabirds, fish, turtles, and marine mammals are less vulnerable to being harmed by it."

Businesses were given six months before the ban to phase-out single-use plastic bags. Sage says the Ministry for the Environment (MfE) will be conducting "random retail precinct audits" to assess levels of compliance.

"The Government does not have prosecution targets or a goal to prosecute retailers.

"If MfE end up needing to prosecute, they will - although they don't want to get to that point. If a prosecution is successful, the court is able to determine a financial penalty."

According to Sage, New Zealanders appear to have already made a rapid transition to reusable bags.

Survey research done for MfE shows an increase from 56 percent in April 2018 to 91 percent in September 2018 in the number of shoppers bringing their own reusable bag.

"Government regulations and the sum of many individual actions make a difference," Sage says.

"New Zealanders remembering to take their reusable bags is stopping tens of millions of single plastic bags becoming waste each year." </s> McDonald’s and Starbucks have been caught in a crackdown on plastics in India.

The restaurant chains were among dozens of companies hit with fines in Maharashtra state — India’s second-largest with a population of more than 100 million — at the weekend, a government official said.

The ban on single-use plastic items including shopping bags, food containers and cutlery, was announced in late March but went into force on Saturday.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called plastic a “menace to humanity” in a speech earlier this month. His government has pledged to eliminate single-use plastic in India by 2022, joining a global campaign that has been given added urgency by research showing there will be more plastic by weight than fish in the oceans by 2050.

At least 25 of India’s 29 states have full or partial bans on single-use plastics, but they’re often not strictly enforced.

Maharashtra is cracking down immediately, forcing companies to change their ways.

Hardcastle Restaurants, the franchisee which runs McDonald’s outlets in Maharashtra, said it has begun using wooden cutlery, paper cups and straws made of corn starch.

But the chain was fined because it has not yet found similar alternatives for delivery items such as plastic lids for drinks, a spokesperson for McDonald’s India told CNNMoney. McDonald’s has joined restaurant associations in the region in asking for exemptions from the ban for delivery and takeaway orders, the spokesperson added.

Starbucks India did not respond to a request for comment.

Fines for breaking the ban are small for global companies. They start at 5,000 rupees ($73) for first time offenders, rising to 25,000 rupees ($367) for subsequent violations. Serial offenders could face jail time.

But the ban poses a much bigger challenge for smaller businesses and retailers. Industry associations have warned of dire consequences, starting with the plastics industry.

Neemit Punamiya, secretary of the Plastic Bags Manufacturers Association of India, estimates that India’s plastic industry could lose over $2.2 billion and 300,000 jobs as a result of the ban, local media reported.

Punamiya did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

So far the government of Maharashtra has only exempted plastic containers used to package medicines, milk and solid waste, as well as plastic items for export.

Authorities in Mumbai, India’s financial hub and the capital of Maharashtra state, collected fines worth 400,000 rupees ($5,900) on Sunday from more than 80 establishments, a senior official told CNNMoney. Officials in Pune, another of the state’s major cities, reportedly collected a similar amount.

India’s campaign to cut back on plastic usage follows similar moves in the European Union and the United Kingdom.

Big global companies are also doing their part, with Swedish furniture giant IKEA imposing a ban on single-use plastic earlier this month. </s> McDonald's and Starbucks have been caught in a crackdown on plastics in India.

The restaurant chains were among dozens of companies hit with fines in Maharashtra state — India's second-largest with a population of more than 100 million — at the weekend, a government official said.

The ban on single-use plastic items including shopping bags, food containers and cutlery, was announced in late March but went into force on Saturday.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called plastic a "menace to humanity" in a speech earlier this month. His government has pledged to eliminate single-use plastic in India by 2022, joining a global campaign that has been given added urgency by research showing there will be more plastic by weight than fish in the oceans by 2050.

Related: How big brands are trying to pull off a recycling revolution

At least 25 of India's 29 states have full or partial bans on single-use plastics, but they're often not strictly enforced.

Maharashtra is cracking down immediately, forcing companies to change their ways.

Hardcastle Restaurants, the franchisee which runs McDonald's (MCD) outlets in Maharashtra, said it has begun using wooden cutlery, paper cups and straws made of corn starch.

But the chain was fined because it has not yet found similar alternatives for delivery items such as plastic lids for drinks, a spokesperson for McDonald's India told CNNMoney. McDonald's has joined restaurant associations in the region in asking for exemptions from the ban for delivery and takeaway orders, the spokesperson added.

Starbucks (SBUX) India did not respond to a request for comment.

Related: McDonald's to scrap plastic straws in UK and Ireland

Fines for breaking the ban are small for global companies. They start at 5,000 rupees ($73) for first time offenders, rising to 25,000 rupees ($367) for subsequent violations. Serial offenders could face jail time.

But the ban poses a much bigger challenge for smaller businesses and retailers. Industry associations have warned of dire consequences, starting with the plastics industry.

Neemit Punamiya, secretary of the Plastic Bags Manufacturers Association of India, estimates that India's plastic industry could lose over $2.2 billion and 300,000 jobs as a result of the ban, local media reported.

Hipen Bheda, president of the All India Plastics Manufacturers' Association, said the ban in its current form was unclear and so widely drawn that it could harm the economy.

"The decision has to be to seek solutions to the pollution or the littering and not on killing the industry," he told CNN, adding that the industry was keen to work with government to improve waste management.

Related: Big businesses are saying no to plastic trash in the UK

So far the government of Maharashtra has only exempted plastic containers used to package medicines, milk and solid waste, as well as plastic items for export.

Authorities in Mumbai, India's financial hub and the capital of Maharashtra state, collected fines worth 400,000 rupees ($5,900) on Sunday from more than 80 establishments, a senior official told CNNMoney. Officials in Pune, another of the state's major cities, reportedly collected a similar amount.

India's campaign to cut back on plastic usage follows similar moves in the European Union and the United Kingdom.

Big global companies are also doing their part, with Swedish furniture giant IKEA imposing a ban on single-use plastic earlier this month.

-- Vinayak Dewan and Sreoshi Mukherjee contributed to this article.
A ban on single-use plastic shopping bags comes into force in New Zealand. Businesses that break the ban will face fines of up to $100,000NZD.