Retailers report a drastic decrease in the use of plastic bags since the 50 cent levy began a month ago, but manufacturers say their business has dropped only about 10 per cent.
The Retail Management Association says about 80 per cent of shoppers now use their own bags.
But the Hong Kong Plastic Bags Manufacturers' Association says that while sales of the familiar supermarket-style bag with handles, which now attract the levy, have fallen 30 per cent or more, sales of other types of bags are rising.
The association, whose 100-odd members account for about 70 per cent of all plastic bags sold in the city, says orders for reusable bags jumped about 40 per cent in July.
Manufacturers have also seen a one-third climb in business for plastic carriers used in prepackaging and say handle-less bags, including garbage bags, also gained by a third.
One said that while his factory was producing fewer conventional shopping bags, the environment would not necessarily get better.
