The following can only be a brief introduction of the legal subject concerned. Before you take any action which may have legal consequence, you should first seek advice from your own lawyer or make an appointment at any District Office to see a volunteer lawyer of the Free Legal Advice Scheme.




(709) REDUCING THE USE OF PLASTIC SHOPPING BAGS

Voice

In Hong Kong, billions of plastic shopping bags (PSBs) are disposed of every year. As PSBs are made of materials that are not easily degradable, their disposal is creating pressure on the precious landfill resources.

To discourage the use of PSBs, the first phrase of the PSB Charging Scheme was implemented between 7 July 2009 and 31 March 2015. It targeted mainly the retail outlets including supermarkets, convenience stores, personal health and beauty product stores and department stores. Customers were charged not less than $0.5 for each PSB provided at their retail outlets.

Full implementation for the PSB Charging Scheme took place between 1 April 2015 and 30 December 2022. Free PSB distribution at all points of retail sales in the territory were banned. Save for exemptions on PSB use for food hygiene reasons, retailers should charge at least $0.5 for each PSB provided to customer and all plastic bags including flat-top were subject to regulation.

To maintain the effectiveness of the Scheme, on 31 December 2022, the Government implemented enhancement measures including:

- Increasing the charging level per PSB to at least $1;

- Removing the present exemption for PSBs carrying frozen/chilled foodstuff items; and

- Tightening the exemption relating to foodstuff items such that free PSBs can only be provided when purchasing foodstuff items without packaging or not wholly contained in any packaging or food and beverage takeaway items in non-airtight packaging, subject to the basic principle of 'one free PSB per single transaction'.

If the Environmental Protection Department has reason to believe that a person fails to charge the customer or offers rebate or discount to customer to offset the amount charged for each PSB, he commits an offence and is liable upon conviction.

For enquiries, please contact the Local Control Officers or through the Environmental Protection Department's Customer Service Hotline of 2838 3111.

Date of amendment: 17th November 2023