All retailers should be subject to the same plastic bag levy in the interest of fairness and to avoid potential legal challenges, environment officials told lawmakers yesterday.
The Environmental Protection Department has proposed that the 50 HK cent plastic bag levy, which currently only big store chains must charge their customers, be extended to cover all 60,000 retailers in the city.
It also proposes that all retailers be allowed to keep the proceeds of the levy to minimise administrative costs, especially for small outlets.
But some lawmakers say big store chains should continue forwarding the levy proceeds to the government, as they do now, lest they profit from the measure.
Democrat Kam Nai-wai, one of those in favour of such a dual approach, said big supermarket chains would pocket most of the proceeds from the levy - about HK$20 million a year - if they didn't have to pass them to the government.
'The big companies will be allowed to [gain from] the levy. At the end of the day, this will backfire on the levy scheme and become a significant step backward,' Kam said.
But Environment Secretary Edward Yau Tang-wah said treating retailers differently would be controversial and unfair.