PlaceMakers is proud to announce that it will be plastic bag free in all its nationwide branch network from 1 September 2018.
The change was announced to customers on Facebook on Thursday last week and is expected to save hundreds of thousands of plastic bags from being used every year.
PlaceMakers Head of Marketing Sharon Lyndon says, “like with many other businesses it became clear to us that there are better alternatives to single-use plastic bags and our customers would be supportive of the change.
“We have been underway with this journey for a while. Our Evans Bay branch went plastic bag free two years ago and we recently completed a successful trial in Dunedin.
“In both stores, the feedback from customers was positive. Like us, they can see this small change is necessary in the bigger scheme of things.
“Between now and 1 September the rest of our branches will be phasing out the use of single use plastic shopping bags.
PlaceMakers chose to act sooner rather than later, and was pleased to hear of the Government’s proposal to ban single-use plastic shopping bags in New Zealand from July 2019, which was also announced last week.
“Plastic bags are a thing of the past. As a market leader in the building industry we need to lead by example and do our bit for the environment.
“We will still be proving customers practical options to carry large or awkward items to their vehicles. As a first option we are recycling cardboard boxes or encourage customers to bring in their own carry bags. We will also have reusable bags available.
“We are looking at a number of other ways to reduce our environmental impact such as recycling initiatives within our branches. We look forward to sharing more with our customers soon,” concludes Ms Lyndon.