Hong Kong’s environmental authorities have notified public housing residents that free plastic bags handed out under a now-shelved waste-charging scheme will not be used in any future programmes, raising the question of whether the plan will ever be introduced. The Environmental Protection Department has put up notices at public housing estates saying residents should use the bags but there was no need to accumulate them. The Post contacted the department to check whether the move meant authorities did not plan to bring the scheme back.
“The free designated bags currently being distributed by the Environmental Protection Department will not be used in any future waste reduction programmes,” it said in the notice. The department also asked the public not to sell the designated bags to avoid breaching the law. “Any unauthorised person who sells designated bags is liable on conviction to a maximum fine of HK$200,000 [US$25,750] ,” it said.
The government shelved the controversial waste-charging scheme in May after opposition from residents as well as sectors such as the catering industry, which would have been hit hard by the policy..
