An Auckland restaurant has found a sneaky way around the single-use plastic bag ban—just cut the handles off. Paradise Indian, a popular Sandringham biryani venue, is continuing to package its takeaways in plastic carrier bags even though July 1st saw the new plastic bag law come into effect.
Rafi Mohammed, the owner of the restaurant, said that it was just a temporary measure to rid the café of its remaining plastic bag stock.
Heavy-hitting fines await retailers who continue to use plastic bags, fines that could total up to $100,000. Although the handle-less bags may be a way to get around the law, the Ministry for the Environment said that it defeats the purpose of the ban. Additionally, they are asking people to report any distribution of plastic bags, on top of around 13 already reported non-compliances.
