Breaching plastic bag ban could see $100,000 fines

Brian from New Lynn

Every Kiwi has a local dairy where they're comfortable wearing PJs at 8am for a bottle of milk - ain't no big thing.
But now a new law could shut them down. That law is the plastic bag ban. As of Monday, 1st July, all stores offering single-use lightweight plastic bags - not just supermarkets - could be heavily fined. So where exactly is the line between crime, and convenience? And what exactly is being outlawed? Well under the new rules, any bag with fewer than 70 microns will be banned. That means classic plastic bags and thick reusable plastic bags will be banned, while ziplock bags and thin produce bags won't. Anyone who ignores the ban could also face a fine of up to $100,000.To put that in perspective, texting while driving will see you fined $80, possessing a firearm without a license will cost you $500 and killing someone while driving drunk will incur a $20,000 fine.
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