The Environment Minister says the Government's approach to the single-use plastic bag ban is working with the number of alleged breaches falling dramatically over the past three years.
The vast majority of alleged breaches have also turned out to be "well-intentioned but wrong", David Parker said, with just a small number found to be actual violations of the law.
Ministry for the Environment data provided to Newshub shows there have been 572 alleged breaches of the single-use plastic bag ban since it came into force in July 2019.
In the six months following the ban being introduced in July 2019, there were 392 alleged breaches. In 2020 there were 105, in 2021 there were 49, and as of October this year, there had been just 26.
Almost half of the alleged breaches occurred in Auckland, with clothing stores being the main source of the alleged violations, followed by chemists and takeaway shops.
The ministry said no one had been prosecuted over any breaches of the ban, but noted prosecution "is one of several tools that be used to encourage compliance with the ban". Other tools include engagement and education.
Parker told Newshub most of the alleged breaches were found to not be infringements of the law and the drop in alleged breaches showed "the educational approach is clearly working".
"Amazing level of compliance because 97 [percent] of the complaints, they were well-intentioned but wrong," he said.
Asked if prosecutions would happen if any of the 29 alleged breaches this year were found to be actual violations, Parker said those weren't decisions for him
"But I've got to say that it's an amazing level of compliance with New Zealanders really embracing the phasing out of single-use plastic bags. Billions fewer bags in the landfill."
The ban prohibits retailers from selling or distributing single-use plastic shopping bags to customers for the purpose of carrying or distributing their goods. It was announced in December 2018 and retailers were given six months to transition away from the bags.
The ban extends to plastic shopping bags made of plastic less than 70 microns in thickness which have carry handles and are new or unused. That includes any plastic bags made from bio-based materials, like starch, and plastics meant to be biodegradable.
However, some bags are not covered by the ban. They include some bags without handles, rubbish bags, and multi-use bags made from synthetic fabrics, like nylon or polyester.
When the ban came into effect, consumers, retailers and suppliers were told they could use an online form to notify the Ministry for the Environment of any non-compliance.
"The ban should ensure less plastic ends up in rivers, streams, stormwater systems and the ocean so seabirds, fish, turtles, and marine mammals are less vulnerable to being harmed by it," then-associate Environment Minister Eugenie Sage said at the time.
Since then, the Government's also begun phasing out other single-use plastic products.
In October, some PVC food trays and containers, polystyrene takeaway packaging, and plastic-stemmed cotton buds were banned.
The Ministry for the Environment told Newshub that within nearly two weeks of the ban coming into effect, it was already aware of two alleged breaches.
They occurred in Auckland and Waikato at takeaway food outlets and involved polystyrene containers and sushi trays.
Ahead of that ban, Newshub ventured down Auckland's busy Dominion Rd and found some business owners were unaware of the upcoming prohibition.
In mid-2023, the Government plans to ban single-use plastic produce bags, plastic straws, plastic produce labels and plastic plates, bowls and cutlery. Other PVC and polystyrene food and drink packaging will be banned from mid-2025.
