Leading the charge against plastic bags

Wanaka Wastebusters staff Angus Ho, of Hong Kong, and Gwilym Griffith-Jones, of Wanaka, with Sustainable Wanaka manager Sophie Ward. The pyramid contains 1500 plastic bags, representing the number being diverted from the Wanaka landfill every day through the use of other bags. Photo by Marjorie Cook.

The executive director of Greeners Action, a Hong Kong environmental group, is living in Wanaka for a year, helping Wanaka Wastebusters and Sustainable Wanaka staff launch their fledgling Get Real national campaign against plastic bags.

Mr Ho knows it is going to be a long haul for his Kiwi friends to ban the plastic bag.

Greeners Action took nine years to achieve its goal of legislative controls on plastic bag use in Hong Kong, the home of 7 million people who love to shop.

His battle against plastic bags in a shopping heaven is not over by a long shot.

But in July, laws and regulations passed by two tiers of Hong Kong's legislature last year will finally come into effect, resulting in shoppers being charged for using plastic bags at supermarkets.

The money goes directly into Hong Kong government coffers and Greeners Action is now entering a new phase of lobbying to ensure the funds are used for environmental, charitable initiatives.

"I think it is a very good start. Many, many people ask why we chose plastic bags. In Hong Kong, there's hundreds of things that are not very environmentally friendly . . . But everyone will use a plastic bag," Mr Ho said.

Wanaka environmental campaigners are thrilled to have Mr Ho to help spearhead the national plastic bag campaign launched on Sunday.

Mr Ho first introduced himself to locals in 2007, while on holiday in New Zealand, and he returned this year to work for Wanaka Wastebusters.

He believes people can change their behaviour to reduce plastic bag use but they need reminders to take their own bags to the shops.

"It is just like switching off lights when you go out or turning the tap off when washing your face," he said.

He was a secondary school pupil when he joined Greeners Action in 1994.

The group of about 1000 volunteers has many links to the Hong Kong secondary and tertiary education sectors and is administered by a committee of six.

Since launching the plastic bag campaign in Hong Kong in 2000, the group has lobbied two major supermarket chains, Wellcome and Park 'N Shop.

The group has protested, distributed flyers at shop doors and blocked supermarket head offices with banners.

Greeners Action also distributed reusable bags, made mountains of plastic bags in the city centre, held education campaigns in schools, researched consumer behaviour, met supermarket representatives and lobbied lawmakers.

Mr Ho has travelled widely and researched initiatives in other countries, such as Taiwan and Ireland, where there is a charge for plastic bags.

In the first years of the campaign, the supermarkets and government officials "just wanted us to go away and not bother them anymore", he said.

In 2003, a small breakthrough occurred following the Sars (severe acute respiratory syndrome) scare and a downturn in economic conditions.

All of a sudden the Hong Kong Government was interested in a plastic bag levy "to get more money for the Government, which I disagree. But they said, `yes, it's a good idea and we should discuss'," Mr Ho said.

Another breakthrough occurred in 2006, when No Plastic Bag Day was launched with supermarkets voluntarily agreeing to charge consumers once a month for plastic bags.

In 2007, supermarkets changed to a once-a-week charge. The money raised was given to Oxfam.