Government funding boosts an agricultural PP processing plant, and retailers in two countries reduce their use of thin plastic bags.
Australia: Two large supermarket chains will phase out single-use plastic bags and offer a more durable, reusable alternative in the coming year. Recycling International writes that the decision by Woolworths and Coles comes against a backdrop of bag bans in various parts of the country.
United Kingdom: Seven top retailers distributed 83 percent fewer single-use plastic bags from 2016 to 2017 than they did three years earlier, according to a new report. LetsRecycle.com writes that the substantial drop followed a bag fee implemented in 2015, which levies a 5-pence bag charge at the point-of-sale.
New Zealand: A PP processing facility will receive significant support through government funding. According to a press release, the waste minimization program of the New Zealand government has granted 1.25 million New Zealand dollars (about $930,000) to a company that will process PP from recycled fertilizer bags, pelletizing it for molding into irrigation tubing and rope.
