From July 1, 2019 government banned all plastic checkout bags, and weirdly, included starch checkout bags. Starch checkout bags are made from cornstarch or PLA, a 100% renewable material made from plant fibre. Liberty Market was among the early adopters of Starch checkout bags in the early days when almost all checkout bags were plastic.
Customers tell us they love the startch bags because when those bags double as rubbish bin liners, they degrade naturally into the soil at the landfill. Unlike plastic which could remain for thousands of years in the landfill.
(oh, and we know starch bags degrade quickly. Our first batch degraded so fast that they literally became unusable after a few months when they were brand new and stored in boxes!)
Plastic rubbish bin bags are NOT banned, interestingly. And we all know what checkout bags are good for- as rubbish bags!
When people have no checkout bags (either plastic or starch) to use as bin liners, they have to buy bin liners. And how many people will actually shell out big bucks to buy those expensive starch rubbish bin liners?
It seems obvious that the plastic rubbish bin liners will be selling like hot cakes in New Zealand.
So, is banning Starch Checkout Bags really a smart move?