Background

Plastic shopping bags provide a cost-effective and practical means for distributing merchandise at point of sale in supermarkets and in the general retail environment. They often provide an important secondary use within homes for storage and ultimate removal of waste.

Plastic shopping bags are estimated to contribute less than 0.2% (by weight) to the entire waste stream in New Zealand. It is often the litter impact of plastic bags that contributes to the perception that they are a waste problem. By promoting to the public the responsible use of plastic shopping bags, the retail sector is striving to alleviate this litter problem.

The Packaging Council's retail members are committed to the responsible use of plastic shopping bags, including reducing unnecessary use of bags, providing reusable bag alternatives and collaborating with other sectors to promote the recovery and recycling of plastic shopping bags.

Under the Packaging Accord 2004 - 2009, retailers Foodstuffs, Progressive Enterprises and The Warehouse delivered a 22% reduction in bag consumption.

• 157 million bags have been taken out of circulation over the 5 years of the Accord.
• There has been a 28% reduction in plastic used in bags through a combination of reducing bag consumption and light-weighting.
• This has been achieved voluntarily by the retailers working with their staff and customers.

(New Zealand Packaging Accord Year Five Progress Report)

Findings of the Australian Productivity Commission

Research commissioned by the Australian Government estimated:

• only 0.8% of plastic bags become litter;
• plastic bags account for 2% of all litter items (by number); and
• around 2% (or AUD$4 million) of annual expenditure on cleaning up litter is attributable to plastic bags.

Plastic-bag litter has the potential to injure marine wildlife, including endangered species. However, claims that at least 100 000 animals are killed each year by plastic-bag litter are not supported by evidence. Such claims appear to be based on the misinterpretation of Canadian research on the impact of fishing nets. Some have also misinterpreted case studies of individual animals that have come into contact with plastic debris (not just plastic bags) as being representative of the overall impact of plastic-bag litter. The true extent to which plastic-bag litter injures populations of marine wildlife, as opposed to individual animals, is likely to remain very uncertain because it is extremely difficult to measure [Finding 8.6].

Based on the evidence available to the Commission, it appears that the Australian, State and Territory Governments do not have a sound case for proceeding with their proposed phase out of plastic retail carry bags. Similarly, there does not appear to be a sound basis for the Victorian Government's proposed per-unit charge on plastic bags. A cost-benefit study commissioned by the Governments shows that the benefits of a phase out or a per-unit charge would be significantly outweighed by the costs. This is because the policies would penalise most uses of plastic retail carry bags, whereas the potential benefit would only come from the small proportion of bags that are littered. A more cost-effective approach would be to target littering directly [Finding 8.7].

(Productivity Commission 2006, Waste Management, Report no. 38, Canberra)

Click here to download the Productivity Commission's report.

Packaging Council Position

The Packaging Council does not support either a ban or a mandatory levy on plastic shopping bags. The Packaging Council fully supports the retailer's voluntary initiatives to reduce plastic bag consumption.

This position is based on the following findings:

• Market research by AC Nielson into consumer attitudes towards plastic bags showed that 62% of customers said that they had reduced the number of bags they used because of the supermarket's efforts; and
• 57% said that they had just enough or not enough plastic bags to meet their reuse needs, which may be why there has been a 15.4% growth in unit sales of kitchen refuse bags.
• Plastic bags are a valuable raw material for recyclers because they are 'clean' plastic which can be easily made into pallets, underground cable covers and other plastic products. Some recyclers are importing plastic bags to meet demand.
• The findings of the Australian Productivity Commission.

Plastic bags are recognised as a small part of the waste to landfill problem and where concern is raised it tends to be specific to bags as a contribution to the overall litter problem. We believe that a ban on plastic bags makes no sense and are supportive of a holistic approach to tackling litter which is based on encouraging people to take personal responsibility.

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TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING

77 Greenmount Drive, East Tamaki, Manukau 2013
PO Box 58899, Botany, Manukau 2163
PHONE 09 271 4044, FAX 09 271 4041
EMAIL: pac.nz@packaging.org.nz