Ban on plastic shopping bags to be widened

Government says this is needed to reduce the dearth of landfill space.

It intends to expand its four-year old ban on free plastic shopping bags to cover practically all retailers. The city's Environmental Protection Department said the existing ban has cut plastic bag use by at least 75% in the 3,000 largest supermarkets, convenience marts and drug stores. It said the public supports expanding it to more stores.

EPD said excessive use of plastic shopping bags remains a serious problem in Hong Kong as many other retail outlets are still distributing plastics to their customers as a matter of routine. It noted their excessive use and subsequent disposal is creating pressure on the already stretched landfill resources.

EPD maintains that charging a fee on bags reduces their use by up to 90%. It said there is room for further reductions because 96% of the 4.4 billion plastic shopping bags that go into the city's landfills each year come from businesses not currently covered.

The Hong Kong Plastic Bag Manufacturers Association did not have a strong reaction to the proposal, saying its members have adjusted their business plans to make other higher-value products after several years of having their products targeted.

Ironically, a 2011 study from the association said that while plastic shopping bag use fell after the ban, the overall use of plastic bags continued to increase because consumers bought more garbage bags. This because consumers can no longer reuse as many shopping bags as trash bin liners, said PBMA.

The amount of plastic used in garbage bags rose 63% and for non-woven plastic bags, it increased 96%, while for traditional retail shopping bags, it fell 68%, PBMA said.