Small retailers like news-stand vendors may be allowed to pocket the HK 50 cents levy on plastic bags instead of handing the money to the government if the scheme is expanded to cover them.
They might also be spared the need to keep records on the distribution and sale of the bags, the environment minister says. 'When moving from the first stage to the second stage [of the scheme], it may not be possible to apply the same system to small retailers,' Secretary for Environment Edward Yau Tang-wah said on a radio programme yesterday on the eve of the first anniversary of the policy.
At present, the levy scheme, which came into effect on July 7 last year, covers about 3,000 major or chain supermarkets, convenience stores as well as personal health and beauty stores.
The shops charge customers 50 HK cents for each plastic bag, then gives the money to the government. They also have to keep records on the procurement, distribution and sale of plastic bags, and file details with the Environmental Protection Department.
Commenting on the possibility of making small retailers do this, Yau said: 'They would worry if you required them to keep a record and file the data to the government ... If the levy is a type of government income, it's very stringent under the law that one can't pay a dollar less.'
For this reason, he said, some countries used a more direct method such as simply requiring retailers to charge for plastic bags, 'as the levy is not for generating income'.