The Environmental Protection Department on Monday said designated bags and labels will be on sale from this month in preparation for the implementation of the municipal solid waste charging scheme in April.

The department said it has been setting up a territory-wide retail network, covering about 3,000 retail points including supermarkets, convenience stores, pharmacies and online platforms.

Designated bags and labels of different sizes will be available for sale at the retail locations as well as online platforms starting from the second half of January to February.

“To promote waste reduction and reuse, we encourage retailers selling designated bags to place some single designated bags at the checkout counter to replace plastic shopping bags, with a view to achieving the effect of 'one bag for two uses'. Retailers providing this service will be listed on the dedicated website,” a department spokesman said.

“Shoppers can choose to bring their own shopping bags, buy a plastic shopping bag for at least one dollar, or designated bags to contain goods at the statutory sale price.”

The department also said it is processing applications from hundreds of pharmacies to become authorised retailers.