Raising Hong Kong’s plastic bag levy from proposed HK$1 to HK$2 will further reduce usage by 40 per cent, lawmaker says
- Increasing charge on plastic bags will reduce usage by estimated 40 per cent, Tony Tse says
- Authorities will press ahead with plan to double levy from 50 HK cents to HK$1, following 13-year price freeze
Raising Hong Kong’s plastic bag levy to HK$2 (25 US cents) will further reduce usage by an estimated 40 per cent, a lawmaker has said after authorities expressed they would consider calls to amend a proposed HK$1 charge.
Tony Tse Wai-chuen made the remarks on Wednesday after the Environment and Ecology Bureau said it would press ahead with a plan to double the charge from 50 HK cents to HK$1, following a 13-year price freeze, but it was open to any proposals to increase it further.
Tse, of the architectural, surveying, planning and landscape sector, said while residents might be reluctant to bear a HK$2 charge, it would encourage them to bring their own shopping bags.
“The government might want to play safe and charge HK$1 only, concerning the [poor] economic situation … residents would be more concerned if the levy is increased to HK$2, but it might in the end be more effective,” he told a radio programme.
“The government also said that if HK$2 is levied, it is estimated that the volume of plastic bag usage will decrease by 40 per cent.”
Authorities passed a resolution to extend the period for amending the subsidiary legislation on the levy earlier this month, adding that they would consider any calls from lawmakers to amend the charge to more than HK$1 before the expiration of a scrutiny period.
Raising the plastic bag levy is part of the Waste Blueprint for Hong Kong 2035, under which the administration hopes to promote a “plastic-free” culture amid ever-growing waste.
Hong Kong to press ahead with plan to double plastic bag levy to HK$1
The plan’s medium-term goal is to gradually reduce the per capita municipal solid waste disposal rate by 40 to 45 per cent, according to a paper from the bureau.
Its long-term goal is to develop adequate waste-to-energy facilities, moving away from a reliance on landfills and achieving a ‘zero landfill’ target by 2035.
Some lawmakers in a Legislative Council meeting earlier this month already supported increasing the levy to HK$2. They said it could further strengthen the scheme’s effectiveness.
But others like Peter Shiu Ka-fai, who represents the wholesale and retail sector, doubted that further increasing the cost to HK$2 would deter usage in the long-term.
Shiu said when the charge of 50 HK cents was first introduced, it reduced plastic bag usage for a short period of time, but public demand for such items still remained.
The Council for Sustainable Development had also advised the bureau to raise the charge to either HK$1 or HK$2.
However, Vincent Cheng Wing-shun of Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, the major party in the legislature, said they did not agree with the increase of the levy considering the current undesirable economic environment.
He suggested that the government should strengthen public education on reducing plastic bag use.
