New Zealand grocery distributor Foodstuffs has announced that all its retail and wholesale brands will stop offering plastic checkout bags.
The bag ban will start on January 1, 2019.
Among its brands are New World, PAK’nSAVE, Four Square, Raeward Fresh, Gilmours, Trents, Henry’s and On The Spot convenience stores. Liquorland will completely phase out single-use plastic checkout bags by the end of February 2019.
“We’ve been part of New Zealand’s landscape for nearly 100 years, feeding and nurturing and employing millions of Kiwis,” Foodstuffs Managing Director Steve Anderson said.
“We also welcome millions of travellers to our stores as they journey through this amazing country. We consider it a huge privilege and responsibility to do our best to look after our patch for centuries to come.
“The change in plastic bags, our work to improve and remove plastic packaging where appropriate, our leadership in soft-plastics recycling and the ban on microbeads and plastic cotton buds – all add up to major changes in the way we look after New Zealand.”
A reusable bag for ‘every New Zealander’
In fact, some stores in the Foodstuffs network have already gone plastic-bag free at the checkout. These include New World Devonport and Four Square Raglan, Matakana and Martinborough. New World Howick, Marton and PAK’nSAVE Silverdale will to do the same from August 29.
“By the end of March next year, we will have given away a reusable bag to pretty much every New Zealander,” Mr Anderson said.
“We see our beautiful bags everywhere. On the beach, in the park, at the gym, in our stores. They’ve even been spotted at our competitors’ stores. That’s perfectly OK. The more we all change to reusables, the faster we stop plastic bags ending up in the environment.”