What do schools from Dunedin, Golden Bay, Wellington, Tauranga, and a prominent non-government environmental organization have in common? They all started or supported petitions to reduce plastic bag use in Aotearoa. And in August 2018, the Government announced that single-use plastic bags will be phased out over the next year.
Students from Paremata School and Imogen Yates-Aitken and Caitlyn Petrie (center front) from Carisbrook School bring their petition to Parliament.
Anyone of any age can start a petition
And that’s just what students at Carisbrook School in Dunedin did when a petition in their teacher’s name was presented to Parliament on June 2017. The petition of Ann Ruxton and 3,596 others asked Parliament to ban single-use plastic shopping bags in New Zealand to limit harm to our marine environment.
They were supported on the day by 50 six to 10 year-olds from Paremata School holding home-made placards, with two students dressed as plastic straws to draw attention to the damage plastic causes the environment.
When a petition started by students from Samuel Marsden Collegiate School calling for a 10 cent levy on plastic bags in all New Zealand supermarkets, signed by 17, 877 people, was presented in July 2017, both Carisbrook and Marsden students were invited to speak to the Environment Committee.
Students from Carisbrook School, Queen’s High School, and Samuel Marsden Collegiate School speak to the Environment Committee about limiting the use of plastic bags.
