Kiwis show support for a plastic bag levy as soft plastic recycling effort shown to be a failure

Most Kiwis want to see a mandatory charge slapped on the use of plastic bags, a new study has found.

The Waste Management Institute New Zealand (WasteMINZ) study shows roughly two-thirds of people would support a levy, if the money went to charity.

The findings come in the wake of figures showing current industry-led recycling schemes have been a dismal failure.

In Auckland alone, about 17,000 tonnes of household soft plastics ended up in landfill in 2016. That compares with about 360 tonnes collected nationally each year under the supermarket-based Soft Plastic Packaging Recycling Scheme.

Green Party waste spokeswoman Denise Roche said the figures showed the only way forward was to stop plastic bag use at the start of the process.

The supermarket recycling scheme, which had cost taxpayers $365,869 since it was set up in 2015, was a waste of money, she said, and would only ever be taken up by those who already had good recycling practices.

"We need to give them an incentive or a disincentive to change behaviour, and that can only come through regulation, because supermarkets and shops won't do it voluntarily."

Wellington Mayor Justin Lester recently called on the Government to introduce a national levy, or step aside and allow local government to do it, after it was revealed nearly 9000 tonnes of plastic waste was dumped in Wellington landfills every year.

The WasteMINZ survey, completed last year, suggested a levy would not put shoppers off a business, with only 8 per cent saying they would shop elsewhere if their supermarket began to charge for plastic bags.

​A recent Stuff poll of 5800 readers showed 83 per cent supported the banning of plastic bags, after it was revealed Henderson Island, an uninhabited Pacific island, had an estimated 38 million pieces of trash washed up on its beaches.

Auckland Council waste solutions general manager Ian Stupple said 17,000 tonnes of soft plastics were dumped in the city in 2016.

"More alarming is the total amount of plastics which was sent to landfill in 2016, which is estimated at approximately 200,000 tonnes," he said.

Environment Minister Nick Smith has divested responsibility for action to newly minted Associate Environment Minister Scott Simpson.

Simpson, who has held the title for a month, said he did not support power being passed to local government, and that a national approach was needed.

He was not a fan of mandatory regulation, and would prefer for manufacturers and retailers to come to a broad agreement.

He said it was too early to give up on the current recycling scheme, despite it failing to stem the flow of plastic bags to landfill.

"It's much better than having nothing in place. It's a relatively new scheme, people are still getting used to it, and the information I have is that the numbers are increasing steadily."

He would look at adopting the English model, by which levy funds are given to charities and contributed to an 85 per cent reduction in plastic bag use.

STUDENTS PETITION FOR CHANGE

Students from Samuel Marsden Collegiate School in Karori have waded into the debate, producing a campaign video and a petition to have a 10-cent levy on plastic bags at every supermarket in the country.

Group leader Cici Davie said she was inspired by two Balinese sisters whose campaigning convinced the island's government to ban plastic bags by 2018.

"If we want to market ourselves as a clean green 100 per cent pure country, then we need to start enforcing laws that ensures New Zealand stays that way," she said.

BY THE NUMBERS:

33 per cent of shoppers said they would accept a 10c fee for plastic bags

32 per cent of consumers would be happy to pay a 5c levy

20 per cent said no levy would be acceptable

* Source: Waste Management Institute New Zealand, 2016