Nick Mowbray has told Newstalk ZB that there are ‘bigger ways to fix the issue’ of plastic. 

Zuru co-founder Nick Mowbray is calling for a tax on virgin plastics.

Nick Mowbray, co-founder of the toy company Zuru, is calling on the New Zealand government to copy Britain and France by introducing a tax on plastic packaging and single use plastic.

Speaking with Heather du Plessis-Allan of Newstalk ZB, Nick noted that there is a ‘big issue with single use plastics’ and that there are bigger ways to fix the issue, stating: “I’ve always said that plastic isn’t necessarily the problem, it’s how we deal with it.”

According to the interview, Nick thinks banning plastic bags is just putting a plaster on the issue; he feels that the economic playing field should be evened out, by taxing plastics used for packaging or single use plastics more heavily, and making post-consumer or recycled plastics cheaper. The tax would be placed on manufacturers rather than consumers, a move which Nick says would be reflected in prices and will help to fund recycling centres.

In a message to Toy World, Nick elaborated: “Something like 35% of throw-away plastic is packaging, which is crazy. Taxing this would make companies look at more sustainable manufacturing. It would also create revenue streams that would help tackle the issue more aggressively, by setting up recycling systems.” Nick also suggests a slate of tax exemptions for recycling companies, and the banning of plastic products where commercially viable alternatives already exist.

Zuru has already started to removed unnecessary packaging in its products, as the company continues to work towards cutting down on plastic use.