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"We're proud to be the first country in the world to ban single-use plastic produce bags, as well as targeting single-use plastic straws, tableware, and plastic stickers on fruit," said New Zealand's ruling Labour Party.
In what it says is the first such prohibition in the world, New Zealand's left-of-center government is on the eve of banning an array of single-use plastic products including produce bags beginning Saturday.
The Aotearoa New Zealand Ministry for the Environment this week reminded the nation of 5 million people that starting July 1, single-use plastic bags—"the ones you put your fruit and vegetables in at the supermarket"—will be banned. So will single-use plastic straws, with exceptions for people with disabilities and special health needs, as well as single-use plastic tableware, cutlery, and product labels.
"New Zealanders produce about 60 kilograms of plastic waste per person per year, so this is one of the many steps we are doing to reduce it," Associate Environment Minister Rachel Brooking told reporters Wednesday. "We really want to reduce single-use anything packaging. So we want people to be bringing their own bags, and supermarkets are selling reusable produce bags."
While other countries have banned one or more of the items on New Zealand's new blacklist, the archipelago nation says it's the first to enact such a comprehensive ban.
"Say goodbye to plastic produce bags! We're proud to be the first country in the world to ban single-use plastic produce bags, as well as targeting single-use plastic straws, tableware, and plastic stickers on fruit," the New Zealand Labour Party tweeted Thursday.
"It's the latest phase of our plan to cut plastic pollution, and will prevent the use of 150 million plastic produce bags a year," the party continued. "Already, our 2019 ban on single-use plastic supermarket bags has stopped a billion bags getting into landfills, oceans, and other places."
New Zealand previously banned plastic supermarket bags in 2019 and some polystyrene takeout food and drink packaging in 2022. The country plans to phase out food and beverage packaging made primarily from PVC or rigid polystyrene by mid-2025.
(Image: Aotearoa New Zealand Ministry for the Environment)
"Kiwis have adapted well to bringing in their shopping bags to store and we're confident we can all do the same with bringing our own reusable produce bags from home too," Debra Goulding, the sustainable packaging manager at Foodstuffs—a cooperative of three New Zealand supermarket chains—told Scoop.
"Our teams have been working hard behind the scenes to make the transition easier for Kiwis," Goulding added. "We've focused on getting the right systems in place, having our people trained, and providing in-store signage for customers."
Hannah Blumhardt, a waste researcher and senior associate at the Institute of Governance and Policy Studies at Victoria University in the capital Wellington, told The Detail podcast that policymakers should focus on banning many more single-use items.
"We might replace single-use plastic plates with a single-use paper plate, but that paper plate has still required resources to be made, still requires energy to make that paper plate, and then the paper plate is probably going to be food contaminated so it's not going to be recyclable—it often won't be compostable either," she said.
"You've got countries like France—at the beginning of this year they've said that if you're a hospitality outlet and you're serving customers to have here, it is mandatory to use reusable plates and cups and cutlery—so you end up reducing all disposable items," Blumhardt continued.
"In Germany," she added, "they've also passed a law that's come into effect this year where any hospitality outlet that does takeaway, and that includes delivery services, they have to offer a reusable takeaway container option alongside the single-use option and it's got to be the same price or cheaper than the single-use option."
New Zealand's expanded plastics prohibition follows the second round of international negotiations on a global plastics treaty—an accord opposed by fossil fuel and other corporate interests.
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In what it says is the first such prohibition in the world, New Zealand's left-of-center government is on the eve of banning an array of single-use plastic products including produce bags beginning Saturday.
The Aotearoa New Zealand Ministry for the Environment this week reminded the nation of 5 million people that starting July 1, single-use plastic bags—"the ones you put your fruit and vegetables in at the supermarket"—will be banned. So will single-use plastic straws, with exceptions for people with disabilities and special health needs, as well as single-use plastic tableware, cutlery, and product labels.
"New Zealanders produce about 60 kilograms of plastic waste per person per year, so this is one of the many steps we are doing to reduce it," Associate Environment Minister Rachel Brooking told reporters Wednesday. "We really want to reduce single-use anything packaging. So we want people to be bringing their own bags, and supermarkets are selling reusable produce bags."
While other countries have banned one or more of the items on New Zealand's new blacklist, the archipelago nation says it's the first to enact such a comprehensive ban.
"Say goodbye to plastic produce bags! We're proud to be the first country in the world to ban single-use plastic produce bags, as well as targeting single-use plastic straws, tableware, and plastic stickers on fruit," the New Zealand Labour Party tweeted Thursday.
"It's the latest phase of our plan to cut plastic pollution, and will prevent the use of 150 million plastic produce bags a year," the party continued. "Already, our 2019 ban on single-use plastic supermarket bags has stopped a billion bags getting into landfills, oceans, and other places."
New Zealand previously banned plastic supermarket bags in 2019 and some polystyrene takeout food and drink packaging in 2022. The country plans to phase out food and beverage packaging made primarily from PVC or rigid polystyrene by mid-2025.
(Image: Aotearoa New Zealand Ministry for the Environment)
"Kiwis have adapted well to bringing in their shopping bags to store and we're confident we can all do the same with bringing our own reusable produce bags from home too," Debra Goulding, the sustainable packaging manager at Foodstuffs—a cooperative of three New Zealand supermarket chains—told Scoop.
"Our teams have been working hard behind the scenes to make the transition easier for Kiwis," Goulding added. "We've focused on getting the right systems in place, having our people trained, and providing in-store signage for customers."
Hannah Blumhardt, a waste researcher and senior associate at the Institute of Governance and Policy Studies at Victoria University in the capital Wellington, told The Detail podcast that policymakers should focus on banning many more single-use items.
"We might replace single-use plastic plates with a single-use paper plate, but that paper plate has still required resources to be made, still requires energy to make that paper plate, and then the paper plate is probably going to be food contaminated so it's not going to be recyclable—it often won't be compostable either," she said.
"You've got countries like France—at the beginning of this year they've said that if you're a hospitality outlet and you're serving customers to have here, it is mandatory to use reusable plates and cups and cutlery—so you end up reducing all disposable items," Blumhardt continued.
"In Germany," she added, "they've also passed a law that's come into effect this year where any hospitality outlet that does takeaway, and that includes delivery services, they have to offer a reusable takeaway container option alongside the single-use option and it's got to be the same price or cheaper than the single-use option."
New Zealand's expanded plastics prohibition follows the second round of international negotiations on a global plastics treaty—an accord opposed by fossil fuel and other corporate interests.
In what it says is the first such prohibition in the world, New Zealand's left-of-center government is on the eve of banning an array of single-use plastic products including produce bags beginning Saturday.
The Aotearoa New Zealand Ministry for the Environment this week reminded the nation of 5 million people that starting July 1, single-use plastic bags—"the ones you put your fruit and vegetables in at the supermarket"—will be banned. So will single-use plastic straws, with exceptions for people with disabilities and special health needs, as well as single-use plastic tableware, cutlery, and product labels.
"New Zealanders produce about 60 kilograms of plastic waste per person per year, so this is one of the many steps we are doing to reduce it," Associate Environment Minister Rachel Brooking told reporters Wednesday. "We really want to reduce single-use anything packaging. So we want people to be bringing their own bags, and supermarkets are selling reusable produce bags."
While other countries have banned one or more of the items on New Zealand's new blacklist, the archipelago nation says it's the first to enact such a comprehensive ban.
"Say goodbye to plastic produce bags! We're proud to be the first country in the world to ban single-use plastic produce bags, as well as targeting single-use plastic straws, tableware, and plastic stickers on fruit," the New Zealand Labour Party tweeted Thursday.
"It's the latest phase of our plan to cut plastic pollution, and will prevent the use of 150 million plastic produce bags a year," the party continued. "Already, our 2019 ban on single-use plastic supermarket bags has stopped a billion bags getting into landfills, oceans, and other places."
New Zealand previously banned plastic supermarket bags in 2019 and some polystyrene takeout food and drink packaging in 2022. The country plans to phase out food and beverage packaging made primarily from PVC or rigid polystyrene by mid-2025.
(Image: Aotearoa New Zealand Ministry for the Environment)
"Kiwis have adapted well to bringing in their shopping bags to store and we're confident we can all do the same with bringing our own reusable produce bags from home too," Debra Goulding, the sustainable packaging manager at Foodstuffs—a cooperative of three New Zealand supermarket chains—told Scoop.
"Our teams have been working hard behind the scenes to make the transition easier for Kiwis," Goulding added. "We've focused on getting the right systems in place, having our people trained, and providing in-store signage for customers."
Hannah Blumhardt, a waste researcher and senior associate at the Institute of Governance and Policy Studies at Victoria University in the capital Wellington, told The Detail podcast that policymakers should focus on banning many more single-use items.
"We might replace single-use plastic plates with a single-use paper plate, but that paper plate has still required resources to be made, still requires energy to make that paper plate, and then the paper plate is probably going to be food contaminated so it's not going to be recyclable—it often won't be compostable either," she said.
"You've got countries like France—at the beginning of this year they've said that if you're a hospitality outlet and you're serving customers to have here, it is mandatory to use reusable plates and cups and cutlery—so you end up reducing all disposable items," Blumhardt continued.
"In Germany," she added, "they've also passed a law that's come into effect this year where any hospitality outlet that does takeaway, and that includes delivery services, they have to offer a reusable takeaway container option alongside the single-use option and it's got to be the same price or cheaper than the single-use option."
New Zealand's expanded plastics prohibition follows the second round of international negotiations on a global plastics treaty—an accord opposed by fossil fuel and other corporate interests.
In some cases, corporate groups have posed as small business owners besieged by rising crime rates.
U.S. President Donald Trump's military occupation of Washington, D.C. has been egged on for months by corporate lobbyists. In some cases, they have posed as small business owners besieged by rising crime rates.
According to a report Tuesday in The Lever:
Last February, the American Investment Council, private equity's $24 million lobbying shop, penned a letter to D.C. city leaders demanding "immediate action" to address an "alarming increase" in crime.
That letter was published as an exclusive by Axios with the headline: "Downtown D.C. Business Leaders Demand Crime Solutions."
But far from a group of beleaguered mom-and-pops, the letter's signatories "included some of the biggest trade groups on K Street," The Lever observed:
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which boasts its status as the largest business organization in the world; the National Retail Federation, a powerful retail alliance representing giants like Walmart and Target; and Airlines for America, which represents the major U.S. airlines, among others. These lobbying juggernauts spend tens of millions of dollars every year lobbying federal lawmakers to get their way in Washington."
It was one of many efforts by right-wing groups to agitate for a more fearsome police crackdown in the city and oppose criminal justice reforms.
On multiple occasions, business groups and police unions have helped to thwart efforts by the D.C. city council to rewrite the city's criminal code, which has not been updated in over a century, to eliminate many mandatory minimum sentences and reduce sentences for some nonviolent offenses.
The reforms were vetoed by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser in 2023. After the veto was overridden by the city council, Democrats helped Republicans pass a law squashing the reforms, which was signed by then-President Joe Biden.
In 2024, groups like the Chamber of Commerce pushed the "Secure D.C." bill in the city council, which expanded pre-trial detention, weakened restrictions on chokeholds, and limited public access to police disciplinary records.
At the time, business groups lauded these changes as necessary to fight the post-pandemic crime spike D.C. was experiencing.
But crime rates in D.C. have fallen precipitously, to a 30-year low over the course of 2024. As a press release from the U.S. attorney's office released on January 3, 2025 stated: "homicides are down 32%; robberies are down 39%; armed carjackings are down 53%; assaults with a dangerous weapon are down 27% when compared with 2023 levels."
Nevertheless, as Trump sends federal troops into D.C., many in the corporate world are still cheering.
In a statement Monday, the D.C. Chamber of Commerce described itself as a "strong supporter" of the Home Rule Act, which Trump used to enact his federal crackdown.
The Washington Business Journal quoted multiple consultancy executives—including Yaman Coskum, who exclaimed that "It is about time somebody did something to make D.C. great again," and Kirk McLaren who said, "If local leaders won't protect residents and businesses, let's see if the federal government will step in and do what's necessary to create a safe and prosperous city."
Despite crime also being on the decline in every other city he has singled out—Los Angeles, Baltimore, Oakland, New York, and Chicago—Trump has said his deployment of federal troops "will go further."
"California will now draw new, more 'beautiful maps,'" wrote Newsom's press office in a Trump-style social media post.
The office of Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday night revealed that the governor was going ahead with plans to redraw California's congressional map with the goal of counteracting Republicans' planned mid-decade gerrymander in Texas.
In a post on X, Newsom's press office made the announcement while openly parodying the social media posting style of U.S. President Donald Trump.
"DONALD 'TACO' TRUMP, AS MANY CALL HIM, 'MISSED' THE DEADLINE!!!" the post began. "CALIFORNIA WILL NOW DRAW NEW, MORE 'BEAUTIFUL MAPS,' THEY WILL BE HISTORIC AS THEY WILL END THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY (DEMS TAKE BACK THE HOUSE!). BIG PRESS CONFERENCE THIS WEEK WITH POWERFUL DEMS AND GAVIN NEWSOM—YOUR FAVORITE GOVERNOR—THAT WILL BE DEVASTATING FOR 'MAGA.' THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!"
The announcement came less than two days after Newsom sent a letter to Trump warning the president that he was "playing with fire" by pushing Texas to draw a new map that independent analysts have estimated could net Republicans five additional seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
At the time, Newsom also left open the possibility of backing off his threat to redraw California's map if Texas did likewise.
"If you will not stand down I will be forced to lead an effort to redraw the maps in California to offset the rigging of maps in red states," Newsom said. "But if the other states call off their redistricting efforts, we will happily do the same. And American democracy will be better for it."
Newsom then informed Trump that he had until late Tuesday to respond to his letter before the California governor took action.
Before redrawing California's map, however, Newsom would have to undo his state's current redistricting process through a special ballot initiative this fall, as for years California's districts have been determined by an independent commission.
As the gerrymandering wars have escalated, pro-democracy watchdog Common Cause this week unveiled a new set of standards for any redistricting effort that includes measures such as using independent commissions and avoiding racial discrimination aimed at reducing the political power of minorities throughout the country.
"Bureau of Labor Statistics data is what determines the annual cost-of-living adjustment for Social Security benefits," said Rep. John Larson. "It should alarm everyone when a yes-man determined to end Social Security is installed in this position."
U.S. President Donald Trump's pick to replace the top labor statistics official he fired earlier this month has called Social Security a "Ponzi scheme" that needs to be "sunset," comments that critics said further disqualify the nominee for the key government role.
During a December 2024 radio interview, Heritage Foundation economist E.J. Antoni said it is a "mathematical fiction" that Social Security "can go on forever" and called for "some kind of transition program where unfortunately you'll need a generation of people who pay Social Security taxes, but never actually receive any of those benefits."
"That's the price to pay for unwinding a Ponzi scheme that was foisted on the American people by the Democrats in the 1930s," Antoni continued. "You're not going to be able to sustain a Ponzi scheme like Social Security. Eventually, you need to sunset the program."
Trump's choice for the Commissioner of the Bureau Labor Statistics called Social Security a "Ponzi scheme" in an interview:
" What you need to do is have some kind of transition program where unfortunately you'll need a generation of people who pay Social Security taxes, but… pic.twitter.com/MXL7k1C644
— More Perfect Union (@MorePerfectUS) August 12, 2025
Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.), one of Social Security's most vocal defenders in Congress, said Antoni's position on the program matters because "Bureau of Labor Statistics data is what determines the annual cost-of-living adjustment for Social Security benefits."
"It should alarm everyone when a yes-man determined to end Social Security is installed in this position," Larson said in a statement. "I call on every Senate Republican to stand with Democrats and reject this extreme nominee—before our seniors are denied the benefits they earned through a lifetime of hard work."
Trump announced Antoni's nomination to serve as the next commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) less than two weeks after the president fired the agency's former head, Erika McEntarfer, following the release of abysmal jobs figures. The firing sparked concerns that future BLS data will be manipulated to suit Trump's political interests.
Antoni was a contributor to the far-right Project 2025 agenda that the Trump administration appears to have drawn from repeatedly this year, and his position on Social Security echoes that of far-right billionaire Elon Musk, who has also falsely characterized the program as a Ponzi scheme.
During his time in the Trump administration, Musk spearheaded an assault on the Social Security Administration that continues in the present, causing widespread chaos at the agency and increasing wait times for beneficiaries.
"President Trump fired the commissioner of Labor Statistics to cover up a weak jobs report—and now he is replacing her with a Project 2025 lackey who wants to shut down Social Security," said Larson. "E.J. Antoni agrees with Elon Musk that Social Security is a Ponzi scheme and said that middle-class seniors would be better off if it was eliminated."