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The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) reminds all retail outlets to fully comply with the legal requirements of plastic shopping bag (PSB) charging. Starting from tomorrow (May 1), the EPD will no longer give prior verbal warnings and immediate enforcement action will be taken should any contraventions be found. Retailers contravening the requirements are liable to a fixed penalty of $2,000 or even prosecution proceedings.
Under the Product Eco-responsibility (Amendment) Ordinance 2014, which became effective on April 1, all retailers in Hong Kong, irrespective of size of operation and business nature, have to charge customers not less than 50 cents for each PSB provided for the retail sale of goods, except for situations where there is an exemption. The PSB charge is retained by the shops. PSBs used for food hygiene reasons, such as for containing a food item which is unpackaged or contained in non-airtight packaging or in frozen/chilled state, can be exempted from the PSB charge. PSBs used for the pre-packaging of goods are also exempted, while bags provided with services fall outside the scope of regulation.
As of 5pm today (April 30), over 9 300 retail outlets were inspected by EPD officers with 75 verbal warnings given to non-complying stores including market stalls, grocery stores, bakery shops, fashion shops, and shops selling computer, aquarium, home products or other items. The contraventions included providing free PSBs for non-foodstuff or airtight food, or offering free PSBs for both exempted items and non-exempted items, or providing non-woven bags or other kinds of plastic bags without charging customers, as well as offering rebates to customers to offset the PSB charge.
An EPD spokesman noted that the full implementation of PSB charging has largely proceeded smoothly since its launch. The EPD will continue to publicise the new measures and promote the green habit of "BYOB" (bring your own bag) among shop owners and the general public through various channels and public education campaigns.
For more information about PSB charging, please visit the EPD's dedicated webpage: www.epd.gov.hk/epd/psb_charging, or contact the enquiry hotline at 3152 2299.
Ends/Thursday, April 30, 2015
Issued at HKT 17:42
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