A cosmetics chain that is not required to impose the levy on plastic bags but has been charging customers 50 cents a bag has given differing accounts of what it is doing with the money.
Last month, soon after the charge was imposed on July 7, a member of the marketing staff at Angel Cosmetics told the Post that it would give the cash to charity, with details to be confirmed later. But on Friday another marketing woman at the company said she knew nothing of the charity plan and that no such scheme had been implemented.
'Though we do not meet the requirement for registration with the levy scheme, we are charging the customers 50 cents for every plastic bag they take and the charges will be used to cover administration costs for the company,' she said.
Under the levy law, any retailer that operates at least five stores or a single outlet larger than 2,000 sq ft must charge customers the levy if they simultaneously sell food, personal care items, and medicine.
A spokesman for the Environment Bureau said a shop that was not in the levy scheme but charging for shopping bags did not violate the law; it was simply a commercial decision unrelated to the scheme.
'But the shop should explain to customers clearly about the purpose of the charge to avoid confusion,' he said.