The government has proposed extending the plastic shopping bag levy scheme to cover

all retailers. However, bags for carrying food, drinks and medicine will be exempted.

Retailers will be allowed to keep the 50 cent levy. At present, consumers have to pay the

fee for bags at 3,300 outlets of large retailers, such as major supermarkets and

convenience stores. The government says the scheme has significantly cut the use of

plastic bags. It's also proposing a fixed penalty for retailers who give out bags free of

charge.

However, I think the plastic shopping bag levy scheme cannot cut the use of plastics

bags, but is being encouraged the public to use more shopping bags. Although the use of

vest plastics bag has decreased gradually, the amount of nonwoven bags produced

increased significantly because nonwoven bag is much more durable than the vest bag.

Some people may think that using nonwoven bags is much more “green” than using vest

plastic bags. In fact, the nonwoven bags are mainly made in plastic. Moreover, the

recycling process of nonwoven bags are more complicated than that of vest bag since

there are zips, ropes, buttons and cottons. It need more time to remove these things

before recycle it. Therefore the use of nonwoven bags increase and it is even not green

at all.

The income of some small retainers like Newspaper vendors may decreases because

their customers seldom use their own bag to carry the newspaper but using vest plastic

bags.

Here is some suggestion about the plastic bag scheme.

The Government must introduce a wider range of policies to be addressed, such as

garbage fees and producer responsibility legislation. These policies can help people to

think twice before produce or throw away the plastic bags.

Also, the Environment Protection Department should not encourage excessive

distribution of nonwoven bags, plastic bags in order to reduce the amount of nonwoven

bags produced.

Furthermore, government had to block the gray area of the scheme to minimize the

tricks of some shops. (The product of some bakery was package individual or even

double-packaging.) It will twist the spirit of levy law.