New Zealand plastic bag ban expected to be in place by next July

New Zealand plans to ban disposable plastic shopping bags by next July as the nation tries to live up to its clean-and-green image.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Friday that New Zealanders use hundreds of millions of the bags each year and that some of them end up polluting the precious coastal and marine environment.

Coverage of plastic bag bans on Globalnews.ca:

1:43 Moose Jaw Plastic Bag Ban

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• Halifax councillor calling for plastic bag ban
• Plastic bag ban does not apply to demerged cities
• Victoria moving towards plastic bag ban

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New Zealand’s two main supermarket chains had already announced their own plans to phase out plastic shopping bags by the end of this year.

A number of countries and states have introduced bans or restrictions on single-use plastic bags, including France, Belgium, China, Hawaii and California.

READ MORE: Victoria pushing for B.C.-wide plastic bag ban as city’s own begins July 1

But a major supermarket chain in Australia changed course several times this year after customers got angry about its plans to start charging shoppers for bags.