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Plastic bag use drops sharply following levy in HK

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-08-08 18:05

HONG KONG: The use of plastic shopping bags at supermarkets and retail chains in Hong Kong dropped by as much as 80 percent since an environmental levy was imposed a month ago, a local retailer association has said.

The number of those who visited stores with shopping bags of their own also increased by 67 percent, local newspapers reported Saturday.

Nevertheless, a survey also showed that 58 percent of stores and business owners complained of falling turnover on Fridays and weekends, said Caroline Mak, chairperson of the Hong Kong Retail Management Association.

Related readings:  Shoppers accepting of bag levy  Plastic bag ban works in cities, not rural areas  China finds plastic bag habit hard to break  Still more to do after a year's plastic bag ban

It takes time for the local residents to get used to the levy. Authorities will conduct a review of the environmental levy, said Edward Yau,

secretary for the Environment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government.

Hong Kong launched the environmental levy scheme on plastic bags on July 7, requiring registered retailers to charge half a HK dollar for each plastic shopping bag provided to customers.