After just one month of introducing a 5 cent charge for plastic bags Foodstuffs have announced a 60% reduction in plastic bag numbers compared to the same time last year. In the same week both Wellington and Auckland supermarkets, despite the success, backed down on the charge in response to customer feedback.
In the same week the NZ Packaging council announced they had achieved, in fact exceeded, their five year 20% target for plastic bag reduction. 22% in five years with the Packaging Council’s voluntary scheme or 60% in four weeks; not hard to see which scheme is more effective. NZ22% pure, doesn’t quite have the same ring to it…
Needless to say environmental groups and campaigners across the country were extremely disappointed with the back down. Well done to Foodstuffs South Island for sticking to their guns and for South Island shoppers for showing such strong support for the initiative. Don’t forget to pass on your support to our local New World and Four Square supermarkets!
The debate about plastic bags has raged strongly in the last week – Are they really a big problem? Surely there are bigger issues? Why don’t you campaign against plastic containers for olives at the deli counter? Plastic bags are great I use them for my rubbish? Don’t landfills need plastic bags? etc etc….
In the words of Sue Coutts, GetReal spokesperson and Wanaka Wastebusters manager
“It’s the Harry Potter theory; it’s your choices that make you who you are. Taking your own bags to the shops is not so much about how many micrograms of plastic are in a bag that you are not taking. The real issue is that you are marking yourself as someone who gives a shit. You are saying I actually care and I’m going to do something about it.…If we can’t sort out these little tiny problems like plastic bags we haven’t got a hope of sorting out some of the bigger things”.
From interview with Paul Henry (plastic bag lover) on TVNZ breakfast show. Click here to listen to the whole interview
Here is the video of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
Capt. Charles Moore of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation first discovered the Great Pacific Garbage Patch — an endless floating waste of plastic trash. Now he’s drawing attention to the growing, choking problem of plastic debris in our seas.
Rated Informative, jaw dropping and persuasive on TED so far.
GetReal is only a month old and we have already made a real change.
Campaign #1: Plastic bag success!
Campaign #1 got massive on-the-ground support and media attention. And it got a result!
Foodstuffs announced on 17 April that all their supermarkets, New World and Pak’n Save, would charge for plastic bags from the beginning of August.
Thanks to everyone who supported us on the plastic bag campaign.
This campaign is not over. Progressive Enterprises is yet to announce their decision and we urge you to email them and let your opinion be known.
The rolling maul – Campaign #2 – Packaging is a Priority.
GetReal is moving to focus on the role of packaging in the wider waste issue with the launch of Campaign #2 : Packaging is a Priority.
With the Waste Minimisation Act we have the legislation to do it, The Government is seeking submissions on how to enact it. We just need to give it some teeth.
Last week Leighton Smith laid into us on his talk back show labeling us “eco-whackos” and frothing at the mouth over our activities. We emailed him an invite to the Wastebusters smoko to talk things over but got no reply.
We challenge anybody who thinks our campaigns are not worthy to contact us with their concerns and start a conversation.
Plastic bags? Packaging? Get a life?
If you think this issue is not of immediate concern we encourage you to watch the TED Talk on the Pacifc Gyre.
Much of our packaging is ending up doing tangible harm in areas we do not see and re-designing and re-engineering our waste stream is a challenge we should embrace as an opportunity to do good, fun, challenging work.
Individually wrapped apricots? Eco-whackos? If that is what it takes,
I have been working with Wanaka Wastebusters on a National GetReal Plastic Bag campaign which we launched last week. We are lobbying strongly for the major NZ retailers Progressive (Foodtown, Woolworths and Countdown) and Foodstuffs (New World, Pak n Save, 4Square) to stop giving away plastic bags for free. By charging a small amount for plastic bags countries such as Ireland and Taiwan have achieved 80% reduction in plastic bags in 3 months. Even The Warehouse is following this lead and will start charging from 20th April this year.
I have been working in Wanaka on plastic bag reduction for a few years and in this time Wanaka has embraced the change with 40% of shoppers saying no to plastic bags. However our efforts here could be extended to inspired change on a national level.
In our first week we have grabbed the attention of national media and even John Key has made a statement on the issue. Now what we need is your support. Do you want supermarkets to stop giving away plastic bags for free? Then I urge you to log onto the site and spend 5 minutes online to join our campaign.
If you have friends or family who also take an interest in environmental issues please pass on the link to the site so they can join us too. The more support we have, the more likely we are to have a good outcome on reducing plastic bag usage and the ability to go on and build a series of effective campaigns around packaging issues.
This is important and will lead the way to much greater change on the packaging front. We hope that you will add your voice of concern at www.getreal.org.nz
Grey Lynn 2030 has been rumbling and mumbling about getting a local Plastic Bag campaign going. Nobody has yet put their hand completely up to get behind this project.
This may be just what we need to get us going. Perhaps a few people to get together and go over to listen to Matt.
Please respond on this blog if you are interested.
You are invited to attend a presentation by Matt Cross, businessman and coordinator of Huskisson Plastic Bag Free Campaign.
Huskisson is an Australian seaside town perched on the edge of the glittering Jervis Bay, which became Australia’s first mainland coastal plastic bag free town in 2003.Matt is a local resident of Huskisson, a local businessman, managing two dolphin & whales watch cruise companies together with his family. For 15 years before moving to Huskisson, Matt was in Investment Banking as a currency trader.
He initiated the campaign to help raise the profile of Huskisson and Jervis Bay, to give it an identity, and to help protect, preserve its values via the campaign. Matt’s tremendous effort, perseverance and dedication to this cause saw him become the national, and indeed international, face of Huskisson and above all it enabled Huskisson became Australia’s first mainland coastal plastic bag free town on the 21st November 2003.
Interested to know how they did it ? Come and engage with Matt on March 12, 2009 at Sustainable Living Centre, 4 Olympic Place , New Lynn at 6:30 pm
Please RSVP by March 09, 2009 to Parul Sood at
parul.sood@waitakere.govt.nz or 09 8368000 ext 9016.
If you want to car pool over in a group from Grey Lynn, please contact
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