The initiative – borrowed from Tasmania by the counci's environmental development officer Nicole Sherriff – is being orchestrated by the Kaikoura Enhancement Trust and the Kaikoura District Council and will see 10,000 reusable bags printed, distributed to households and sold by businesses for $1.50.
She says Coles Bay became Australia's first plastic bag-free town in 2003, when its seven businesses stopped using plastic bags and gave reusable bags to residents.
Kaikoura has more than 70 businesses and 25 were already supporting the project, she adds.
The move is part of a three year plan and this year the aim was not to suddenly stop the usage of plastic bags, but gradually reduce them.
The project agreement asks businesses to undertake three initiatives from options including the regular training of staff to encourage customers to reduce their need for plastic bags, supplying paper bags instead of plastic bags and making reusable bags available to customers.
Ms Sherriff says the money for the scheme came from pub charities, the Canterbury Waste Joint Committee and the Zero Waste Trust New Zealand and will be spent on purchase, printing and freighting the bags, promotional stickers and certificates for the businesses involved.
The No Plastic Fantastic design was created by 11-year-old Kaikoura High School student Helena Knowles.
Ms Sherriff says benefits for businesses which signed up included being part of a New Zealand first initiative and making a 50 cent profit from each bag. The rest of the money, $1, will go to the Kaikoura Enhancement Trust for the manufacturing of more bags, and the first run will be printed in November.
