More shops are using biodegradable bags, but some environmental groups say this could lead to more waste
Major shopping chains and fast food outlets are switching to using biodegradable plastic carrier bags.
Maxim's Group, Hong Kong's largest catering business, made the move in December, and Wellcome, the largest supermarket chain, is studying the feasibility of introducing them in its 240 stores.
Restaurant chain Fairwood, bakery chains Yamasaki and Arome, and HSBC, Standard Chartered and Towngas are also using biodegradable bags.
Environmental groups have given the move a mixed response, with some saying a switch to biodegradable bags could mean more plastic bags ending up in landfills as consumers make less effort to cut their usage.
Kenneth Leung Mo-man, director of Pioneer Holdings, one of several suppliers of materials and technology to produce biodegradable plastic bags, said cost reductions had made them more commercially viable.