Plastic Ban

Niue latest to introduce plastic bag ban

The ban began this week, however there will be a transition period where existing stocks must be used by 1 June.

Plastic shopping bags litter roadsides, add to excess rubbish in the community, and provide breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

To combat that the government has imposed a Prohibition Order after receiving Cabinet approval in February.

The Chamber of Commerce has taken the lead in response to the ban by placing signs outside the main shopping areas, encouraging people to use cloth or re-usable shopping bags.

Fiji's plastic bag ban to come into effect on New Year's Day

Fiji's government introduced plans to phase out plastic bags in January this year and the country joins the growing list of Pacific nations to do so.

Marshall Islands, Vanuatu, Niue, Samoa and New Zealand's bans are already in effect while the Pacific's most populous nation, Papua New Guinea, joins them at the end of next month.

In August 2017, Fiji introduced a 10 cent plastic bag levy to reduce plastic bag usage, and a year later the use of plastic bags had halved.

     

Fiji’s ANZ Stadium bans all single use of plastic bags

Fiji Sports Council Chief Executive, Litiana Loabuka said the council is concerned about the large number of single-use plastic bags left at the stadium after an event.

“We have had an increase in a single-use plastic bag and the like being found in all our drains around our venues and it has started to affect our operations and so we have had to do some major re-thinking. We have got bins provided. We encourage people to use the bins.”

Loabuka said they are committed to protecting and maintaining their properties.

Single-use plastic bag ban starts in New Caledonia

From now on, single-use plastic bags are banned.

In a month, the ban will be extended to plastic plates and straws, and starting next May, plastic food packaging will be prohibited.

Per capita New Caledonians have reportedly used more than 200 plastic bags each year.

When the law was adopted by congress last year, some parties abstained from voting, suggesting the change was too sudden.