New Zealand ‘first to ban thin plastic bags from supermarkets’

Catherine Langabeer, left, the head of sustainability at the Countdown chain of supermarkets, and associate environment minister Rachel Brooking demonstrate collecting fruit in reusable polyester mesh bags (Nick Perry/AP)

New Zealand will become the first country to ban the thin plastic bags that supermarket customers use to collect their fruit and vegetables.

The new ban will also extend to plastic straws and cutlery as the government expands a campaign against single-use plastics it started in 2019 when it banned the thicker plastic carrier bags used to carry shopping home.