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No caption Photo: RNZ / Richard Tindiller Ian Proudfoot, global head of agribusiness for KPMG, told a webinar the desire for health and hygiene could easily trump environmental worries about plastics. His comments follow a steady pushback against plastics overseas and in New Zealand, where it led to a ban on single use plastic bags in many parts of the economy with the aim of reducing pollution and reliance on fossil fuels, which are a raw ingredient for many plastics. Proudfoot warned however that people could easily come to view plastic-packaged foodstuffs as clean and safe and could start to insist on it, leading to a revival in the use of plastics. Proudfoot said it happened in East Asian supermarkets even before the Covid-19 coronavirus crisis, and this view could easily spread. "I do see a potential problem in front of us.... in which the safety element will take priority over the environmental element," he told the webinar. "What we will see very quickly is the consumer will want [food] that is wrapped." Proudfoot said the use of biodegradable plastics may offer a solution, and New Zealand could help to manufacture them. "We produce a lot of trees, we produce wool, we produce fibre products and we produce a whole heap of biomass from the products that we grow, that is at present fundamentally a waste-stream." Proudfoot said those materials could be used to create biodegradable packaging and help both the environment and the New Zealand economy. 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The government is pledging to rid the country of single-use plastic bags by July next year. Video [101]Government pledges mandatory phase-out of plastic bags * [102]Chile bans plastic bags for businesses 4 Aug 2018 A seagull picks a plastic bag on the seashore at Caleta Portales beach in Valparaiso, Chile Chile has become the first South American country to legally ban the widespread commercial use of plastic bags. [103]Chile bans plastic bags for businesses * [104]Thicker plastic bags free for Aussie shoppers after outcry 2 Aug 2018 A sign, seen in a Coles supermarket, advises its customers of its plastic bag free in Sydney on July 2, 2018. After banning single use plastic bags, Australian supermaket chain Coles has bowed to customer pressure and will hand out thicker plastic bags free of charge. [105]Thicker plastic bags free for Coles shoppers after outcry Country * [106]Fonterra third quarter profit rises to $815m * [107]Drought-hit Hawke's Bay farmers get $500,000 from Budget * [108]Sheep art in drought area 'something to smile about' * [109]Hundreds support reopened Christchurch farmers' market * [110]Covid-19 could revive single-use plastics - agribusiness head Get the RNZ app for ad-free news and current affairs [111]Download from Apple App Store [112]Download from Google Play Store [app-ad-news-device-one-701ebe867ca28af055c8d91e5f059c782a656b73cdc2200 daf786c9dbd32040c.png] [app-ad-news-device-two-e294322b6bfb4a70fd634520b44ca44cc8eb7978f1fdf3d fbb907fedde92271b.png] Top News stories * [113]Covid-19: Bars ready to reopen, 'depends if anyone turns up' * [114]Collateral Damage: The cost of fighting Covid-19 * [115]Live Covid-19 updates from New Zealand and around the world on 21 May * [116]Fonterra third quarter profit rises to $815m * [117]Simon Bridges' fate to be decided on Friday Subscribe Subscribe to RNZ's Daily Newsletter ____________________ ____________________ Subscribe [118]View latest newsletter Subscribe to RNZ's Daily Newsletter ____________________ ____________________ Subscribe [119]View latest newsletter Subscribe to the Covid-19 newsletter ____________________ ____________________ Subscribe [120]View latest newsletter [121]Country RSS [122]Follow RNZ News RNZ stations * [123]National * [124]Concert * [125]RNZ Pacific * [126]Parliament - 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