Every day people in Hong Kong get r

Every day people in Hong Kong get rid of 15 million plastic bags. They weigh about 600 tons. This is not including the tens of thousands of plastic bags people dump at the beaches and in local waters, which have caused serious pollution. These bags cost taxpayers over $70 million a year to deal with. Some of the bags are destroyed by burning. The problem with this is that, when they break down, they release poisonous chemicals, which can cause cancer. The chemical poisons penetrate into the earth. In order to attract the public’s attention to the problem of plastic bags and to reduce the number of bags used at the same time, the Retail Management Association launched the Use Fewer Bags Campaign. In the first stage of the campaign, 1,500 retail stores aimed to reduce the number of plastic bags given away to customers by 10 per cent. This has been achieved. The second stage of the campaign will focus on the number of plastic bags given away in markets. “Ideally, people going to buy food in the markets should carry their own reusable bags, such as canvas bags, that can be washed,” said a campaign coordinator. She stressed that the campaign had two objectives. Besides reducing the number of plastic bags used, she hoped that the campaign would increase the public’s overall awareness of environmental problems.