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In the light of the official introduction of the environmental levy on plastic shopping bag on 7 July, Greeners Action and The Link Management Limited (The Link) joined hands today (21 June) to roll out the "Shopping Bag Borrowing Service" which is the first-of-its-kind in Hong Kong. The campaign is fully supported by 33 shopping centres of The Link, with an aim to help the public develop the habit of "bringing your own bag" so as to reduce the plastic bag usage. The kick-off of the "Shopping Bag Borrowing Service" was held on 21 June at Lung Cheung Mall in Wong Tai Sin, officiated by Linda Choy, Political Assistant to the Secretary for the Environment; Karen Hung, Director of Greeners Action; and Ronald Leung, The Link's Senior Portfolio Manager. They autographed together on an environmental shopping bag to signify their joint support to the levy on plastic bag and their pledge to use more environmental shopping bags and less plastic bags. After the ceremony, a dozen of guests escorted the shopping bag "Giant Mascot" and the shopping bag "Green Dragon" to tour around the shopping centre, with an intention to promote the ways in reducing plastic bag usage.
4,500 Shopping Bags In Store! Let's Say "NO" to Plastic Bags
In the one-month pilot scheme of "Shopping Bag Borrowing Service" launched by Greeners Action and The Link in March 2009, about 350 shopping bags were lent. It was found that many people have already had the habit of bringing their own bags, yet the borrowing service was of great help when they forgot doing so. As such, right before the implementation of the levy, the "Shopping Bag Borrowing Service" campaign is launched again in 33 shopping centres of The Link. A total of 4,500 biodegradable environmental shopping bags made with 100% cotton with no dye are prepared to serve the needs. The bags are printed with designs symbolizing Clothing, Food, Accommodation and Transportation, reminding the customers that the environmental bags can be used widely in all aspects of living. From 21 June to 28 February 2010, customers can borrow these environmental bags at the Customer Service Counter of the designated shopping centres of The Link, by paying a deposit of $10. During the campaign period, the deposit will be fully refunded to the customers upon return of the environmental bags. All unclaimed deposit on or after 1 March 2010 will be donated (without reduction of cost) to Greeners Action and the Environment and Conservation Fund in support of their environmental protection initiatives.
Karen Hung, Director of Greeners Action, said at the ceremony, "The shopping bag borrowing service is a good idea, especially during the inception of the implementation of the levy, because it gives the public one more choice when they forget to bring their own bags. It effectively reduces the consumption of plastic bags, and more importantly, enables people to develop the habit of using environmental bags. We hope to see more shopping centres and shop tenants to take forward more measures and plans to reduce plastic bag usage, so as to help the whole community to adapt to the implementation of the levy."
Ronald Leung, The Link's Senior Portfolio Manager, said, "At the beginning of the implementation of the levy on plastic shopping bag which is to start on 7 July, the customers may forget bringing their own bags when shopping. We therefore provide the shopping bag borrowing service to the customers in order to encourage green shopping. In addition to the borrowing service, we have also organized the "Get the Reward for Environmental Levy on Plastic Shopping Bag" game jointly with Greeners Action in 50 shopping centres. The response is overwhelming and about 40,000 reward cards have been distributed."
The reward cards of "Get the Reward for Environmental Levy on Plastic Shopping Bag" are available at the Customer Services Counter of 50 designated shopping centres in 18 districts for free. Greeners Action hopes that customers can learn about the levy and become green shoppers while having fun in the game.
Acknowledgment: Environment and Conservation Fund
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