Shoppers to play big role in next phase of banning plastics.
Some Kiwis have been doing it for ages; others will take some time getting used to – but on July 1, supermarkets will be taking a huge step towards a more sustainable and environmentally friendly operation.
That’s the day single-use plastic produce bags will be removed from all supermarkets and grocery stores, part of a wider phase-out by the government of single-use plastics, including items like plastic straws and containers.
The single-use plastic produce bags are the thin, see-through plastic bags on a roll in the produce department which shoppers use to accommodate their loose fruit and vegetables. They’ll be gone – and customers will be asked to bring their own reusable bags when supermarket shopping.
Foodstuffs, the 100 per-cent Kiwi-owned co-operative behind PAK’nSAVE, New World and Four Square supermarkets has welcomed the change and their Sustainable Packaging Manager, Debra Goulding says the voluntary move away from single-use plastic produce bags (including compostable and biodegradable bags) began two years ago when many Foodstuffs stores offered multi-use, compostable and paper alternatives.
Shoppers have already embraced this move, she says, and it’s likely New Zealand will be the first country in the world to ban these plastic produce bags, removing 150 million bags from circulation every year across all businesses, retailers and consumers, or 17,000 plastic bags every hour.
The main moves against plastics began in 2019 with the ban of single-use plastic shopping bags. In July 2021, the government announced the phase-out of a number of hard-to-recycle and problematic plastics. The first phase-outs took place in October 2022, when some PVC and polystyrene food trays, containers, cups, plastic stemmed earbuds and plastic drink stirrers were banned.
The next set of changes are happening now – the end of single-use plastic produce bags, plastic cutlery, plates, bowls, straws and the beginning of the phase-out of plastic produce labels. The final changes are planned for 2025 and will see all PVC and polystyrene food and drink packaging removed.
Foodstuffs was one of the first to sign up to the New Zealand Plastic Packaging Declaration, and is working towards 100 per cent reusable, recyclable or compostable retail and private label packaging by 2025. The co-op has extended this commitment to include all packaging types like plastic, fibre, glass and metal.
“When the government announced the war on single-use plastic back in 2021, we estimated our customers were using about 110 million single-use plastic bags annually,” Goulding says. “Two years later, that’s already down to around the 70 million mark. We’ve done a number of customer surveys to find out what our customers think and want and estimate 90 per cent of our customers are totally in favour of getting rid of the single-use plastic produce bags.
“There’s a minority who tell us they like plastic bags and use them more than once – and there are customers who find the bags useful to use as bathroom bin liners, putting their wet togs in or picking up dog poop,” she says, “but the reality is they’re used once or twice and then end up in landfill.”
Foodstuffs are encouraging all shoppers to do what many already do – bring their own reusable bags to put their produce in. These can be something you already have at home like a reusable shopping bag or reusable produce bags can be purchased in-store. Another option: simply put produce directly into the trolley.
The new way to buy loose fruit and vegetables will bring into play something customers haven’t previously had to deal with – making sure they don’t accidentally pay for the weight of their bag.
Goulding says Foodstuffs are keen for customers to know they’ve anticipated this: “Customers can use whatever bag they like to put their loose fruit and veg into. It could be a pillowcase, an old bread bag or a reusable nylon bag. At the till, simply take the produce out of the bag so the weight of the bag is not included in the produce weight being charged.
For Foodstuffs, the sustainability journey continues. For the last year and a half, Goulding says, the co-operatives have been running a series of trials to find an alternative to PVC wrap, an alternative that can be recycled in New Zealand.
“The material we use to wrap most of the meat and seafood sold at our instore butcheries is PVC. PVC does a great job of protecting the meat, extending shelf life and making sure our customers can store it safely in their fridge or freezers. Replacing it with a different material with the same benefits but that can also be recyclable in New Zealand is our next challenge.
“Many forms of PVC are recyclable but the fact is there are no mechanical processors that can do that in New Zealand – so the existing PVC wrap has to go.”
“We’re on our fifth round of trials to find a replacement and we’re getting close – I think we’ll be there in a few months. The trials have shown that, if we don’t get it right, we lose about 20 per cent of the product’s shelf life and shorten the time customers have to use it.
“It’s important we don’t compromise shelf life to avoid food going to waste. We need to get it right for our customers and future generations of Kiwis.”
For more information: www.foodstuffs.co.nz