The proposed 50 cent levy on plastic shopping bags will be approved by the Legislative Council in July, the environment minister predicted yesterday.
Secretary for the Environment Edward Yau Tang-wah said he expected the Product Eco-Responsibility Bill, which includes the plastic bag levy, would be approved before the end of the legislative year.
'The Legislative Council's bill committee is looking at some conceptual problems. There are about 10 clauses left and we expect they would be discussed in the remaining two to three sessions. We are looking forward to the bill being passed this [legislative] year,' he said.
Environmental protection policies mentioned in the chief executive's policy address would be implemented as soon as possible, Mr Yau said. The bill, which will empower the government to propose levies on products to minimise the waste their manufacture generates, has been under legislative scrutiny since in January. However, some lawmakers are angry at what they say is the government's refusal to address some key issues relating to the nature and scope of the proposed legislation.
Legislators from the Liberal Party and from the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong had said they might stop scrutinising the bill unless officials revised their proposals.
They questioned whether the plastic bag levy was more of a tax than a product responsibility scheme aimed at promoting recycling and recovery.