Beijing shoppers' use of plastic bags is picking up again, two years after the implementation of a policy requiring retailers to charge for the bags. The policy, in the opinion of some ecology-minded nongovernmental organizations, is losing power.

Plastic bags are still widely used in the city's wet markets. [China Daily]

"Some supermarkets and hypermarkets are even offering plastic bags for free, disobeying the policy," said Mao Da, inspector and initiator of the NGO Action for Plastic Bags Policy.

"In Beijing, about 10 percent are giving away free bags, whereas in some smaller cities, the figure is more than 30 percent," Mao told METRO.

Besides, surveys conducted by his NGO and students from the Central University of Finance and Economics both show consumers' growing adaptability to paying extra for plastic bags when shopping.

"I still can't give up the habit of using plastic bags, though I need to pay for them," said a shopper in her 20s at an Ito Yokado store, adding that she frequently forgets to carry along reusable bags.

"A charge of 0.2 or 0.3 yuan per bag is not big money and people are getting used to it," said Mao.

Situations in supermarkets and hypermarkets are not the worst. In grocery markets, free plastic bags provided to consumers are as common as before the charges were enacted.

In the Ri Gou grocery market, in a mall, plastic bags hanging on every booth for customers to take when selecting vegetables and fruit.

"Many customers refuse to pay extra money for plastic bags here. Some of them will even scold us," said a peddler in her 30s.

"Sometimes they even take extra bags before leaving," she said.

She said she pays 1 yuan for 50 bags. The low price indicates that her bags do not reach the standard cited in the policy, which is thicker than 0.025 mm and costs about 0.1 yuan each.

"The price of the vegetables is set by the market administrator; I could only earn 0.1 to 0.2 yuan per kilo," she said. "I know about the plastic bags policy, but I really can't afford better ones."

As for the reasons for the policy's unsatisfactory results in grocery stores, Mao and his colleagues believe the policy itself is flawed.

Mao said the charge policy fails to account for differences in size and types of businesses.

"Seventy to 80 percent of the consumers we interviewed agree with charging for plastic bags in supermarkets and hypermarkets, but the figure goes down to only 40 percent when it comes to grocery stores," he said.

"Also, the policy's attitude of zero tolerance on plastic bags thinner than 0.025 mm is not realistic or practical," said Mao.

On Dec 31, 2007, the State Council established the policy of charging for plastic bags and banning those thinner than 0.025 mm. The policy went into effect on June 1, 2008.

"China is not the only one to set a countrywide restriction policy on plastic bags," said Yang Weihe, program officer with the EnviroFriends Institute of Environmental Science and Technology.

Yang suggested that China learn from Ireland, which has found success on the issue.

"We could impose an environmental tax instead of charging for plastic bags," Yang told METRO. "And the money collected should be managed separately by the government and used for foundations to support recycling."