WELLINGTON, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- Single-use plastic cotton buds, drink stirrers and most plastic meat trays will be banned from sale or manufacture from Oct. 1 in New Zealand.
"This is the first group of the most problematic plastic products to be banned in a progressive phase out over the next three years," New Zealand Environment Minister David Parker said on Friday in a statement.
"Stopping the sale of these plastic products will reduce waste to landfill, improve our recycling systems and encourage reusable or environmentally responsible alternatives," he said.
Plastics that are banned from sale from Oct. 1 are: single-use plastic drink stirrers, single-use plastic cotton buds, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), pre-formed food trays and containers, polystyrene food and beverage retail packaging and plastics with additives that make them fragment into micro-plastics.
"On average, every year each New Zealander sends about 750 kg of waste to landfill. Some products can't be recycled and are unnecessary," Parker said.
"These are the first group of plastic products to be banned since the ban on single-use plastic bags in 2019. That has meant more than 1 billion fewer plastic bags have ended up in landfills or the ocean," Parker said.
In mid-2023, the next group of single-use plastics to be phased out will include single-use plastic plates, bowls, cutlery, single-use plastic produce bags and non-compostable produce labels. Other PVC and polystyrene food and beverage packaging will be banned from mid-2025. ■