Govt must restore bag levy - Greens

Russel Norman. Photo / Glenn Jeffrey

Green Party co-leader Russel Norman is renewing calls for the Government to introduce a mandatory levy on supermarket plastic bags following New World's decision to stop charging South Island customers to use them.

Foodstuffs announced the 5 cent charge in April following a campaign by Get Real, which lobbied for the levy.

But despite ample warning about its planned introduction in August, many customers seemed caught unawares and a North Island consumer backlash prompted New World to scrap it there within the first few weeks.

It left South Island customers to forge ahead with the environmentally friendly message, with Foodstuffs boasting last month it had received great support and plastic bag use had dropped 60 per cent.

But this week Foodstuffs' South Island chief executive Steve Anderson announced it had dropped the levy at all its 40 New World stores following customer feedback.

Dr Norman said he was surprised at how easily the supermarket had folded to public pressure.

"They should have had the gumption to stick with it."

He said it was now up to Environment Minister Nick Smith to do something about reducing consumers' reliance on plastic bags, saying New Zealand was way behind the rest of the world.

New World's decision is also a blow to conservation projects in the South Island. In the few months it had charged the plastic bag levy, $50,000 had been donated to the Department of Conservation which put the money towards five projects in Nelson/Marlborough, Canterbury, the West Coast, Otago and Southland.

- NZPA