26 June 2007

Parliamentarians pleased with progress to prune plastic bags

A joint campaign by the country's two largest grocery retailers to reduce plastic bag use by 20 per cent is being welcomed by the Green Party.

"This is a very useful step forward in reducing the huge amount of plastic bags we use everyday," Green Party Spokesperson on Waste Nandor Tanczos says.

"Up until now, it has been customers who have driven the move towards reusable bags. I'm pleased to see that supermarkets are going beyond just selling them to assertively promoting alternatives to plastic shopping bags.

"A good example is the move towards reminding customers about their reusable bags as they walk in the door - it's too late by the time they get to the checkout.

"Perhaps the most significant aspect of this initiative is the nature of the collaboration between Progressive Enterprises and Foodstuffs.

"It's great to see large scale competitors cooperating to work on what is a collective responsibility.

"This is the sort of positive step forward that benefits all parties. A survey released today showed that 90 per cent of consumers consider plastic bags an environmental hazard and most support efforts to reduce them. Supermarkets can save money and address consumer concerns at the same time as securing a more sustainable future for us all.

"The real measure will be what happens when you go down to your local supermarket - what changes you see and what actual reductions are made," Nandor says.

ENDS

© Scoop Media