New Zealand has become the first country in the world to extend its ban on plastic bags to include the thin plastic bags commonly used when buying fruit or vegetables in stores, he writes. BBC.
The order, which took effect on Saturday, is part of a broader government campaign against single-use plastics.
Most customers already take their own bags to stores after the larger plastic bags were banned in 2019.
Similar restrictions have been imposed in many countries in recent years.
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150 million fewer plastic bags pollute the environment each year
A local environment ministry official noted that New Zealand produces a lot of plastic waste and that more than 1 billion plastic bags have been saved since the ban was introduced in 2019.
Thanks to the latest decision, 150 million fewer plastic bags are expected to be sold each year.
The New Zealand government has taken several measures to combat climate change.
In October, the Cabinet introduced a proposal to tax greenhouse gases produced by farm animals – sheep and cattle.
This would be the first system in the world in which farmers pay in some form for agricultural emissions. About half of the greenhouse gases produced in New Zealand come from agriculture.