Hongkongers to pay HK$1 for each plastic bag at supermarkets from next week in first increase in 13 years

Hongkongers will pay HK$1 (12 US cents) for each plastic bag they take at supermarkets and wet markets from next week when the charge aimed at cutting down waste doubles in its first increase in 13 years.

But all operators, including major chains such as ParknShop and Wellcome, would be given a one-month grace period to fully comply with the new rule, Bruno Luk Kar-kin, the deputy director of environmental protection, on Wednesday said. Government workers posing as shoppers would carry out spot checks on enforcement for three months after the new levy took effect on December 31, he added.

“During the first month’s grace period, we will give advice and verbal warnings to [supermarkets] breaking the law,” Luk said. “For self-checkout counters, we have already advised [shops] that they should try to place bags away from where customers can pick them up themselves.”

The Legislative Council in October amended the Product Eco-responsibility Ordinance to increase the plastic bag levy to HK$1, up from the current 50 cents, in the first increase since the law came into effect in 2009.

Under the stepped-up regulations, certain previously allowed exemptions will be scrapped. Residents will be charged at the checkout if they want a plastic bag for chilled or frozen items, but they will not need to pay for one used for takeaway food or loose fresh goods.

Supermarkets can continue to freely supply plastic bags at their produce or meat sections, but Luk urged the public to follow a general rule of “one purchase, one bag”, unless multiple ones were needed to avoid ruining groceries.

“When it comes to customer behaviour, the law can’t possibly cover all miscellaneous details,” he said.