Responsible consumers must back the plastic bag levy

As responsible consumers, Hong Kong people understand that we all have to make small changes in our consumer decisions to allow society to continue consuming goods not just for now, but forever. This is the core idea behind the Consumer Council's strategic direction advocating sustainable consumption. We therefore support the thinking behind the plastic bag levy and hope for its success. Reducing our use of plastic bags won't be the only solution to saving the world, but it is a step in the right direction.

Levies on plastic bags and partial bans are common in other countries. Take Ireland. Though not usually seen as a trailblazer in environmental policy circles, Ireland, in March 2002, became the first country to introduce the plastic bag levy. It is currently 22 euro cents (roughly HK$1.80) per bag - almost four times Hong Kong's rate. It is collected by retailers and paid into the government's environment fund, which is earmarked for funding litter and waste management.

Here in Hong Kong, only large retailers hand over the levy to the government; smaller retailers keep the money. This simplifies administration. The fact that, in Ireland, the revenue was earmarked for environmental purposes rather than feeding retailers' profits or general taxation is an interesting point of difference with our own scheme.

The main reason for the levy in Ireland was to reduce the nuisance from plastic bags blowing around the countryside, or caught in bushes and trees. And, in this respect, the policy was a great success. According to the Irish government, the use of single-use plastic bags has dropped by 95 per cent, from 1.2 billion a year. This is similar to the 90 per cent reduction in plastic bag usage since 2009 achieved by Hong Kong in the first phase of the policy.

In Ireland, before the levy, plastic bags accounted for 5 per cent of litter but this had dropped to 0.22 per cent by 2004 and it has stayed low since then. Shoppers' behaviour changed, and it stayed changed, unlike some other anti-waste initiatives that use only information or voluntary plastic bag take-back schemes retailers offer.

Britain has phased in the introduction of the single-use plastic bag levy, starting with Wales in 2011, Northern Ireland in 2013 and Scotland in 2014. England will introduce the levy this autumn. This progressive introduction through the different political administrations of the UK created an interesting controlled experiment in policy. The early introduction in Wales resulted in a reduction in use of carrier bags of 81 per cent between 2010 and 2012, while during the same period in England (where there is no levy) usage rose 12 per cent, putting pressure on the government to finally announce in June last year the introduction of English legislation.

The Irish plastic bag levy is broadly seen as a success and has been widely copied throughout Europe, Africa and many US states. In 2002, Taiwan introduced legislation banning the distribution of ultra-thin bags and retailers now levy a charge for thicker bags. South Korea implemented a wide-ranging ordinance which prohibits large stores from free distribution of plastic bags. Singapore is debating doing the same.