Homes for the elderly fear they will struggle to comply with the solid waste charging policy that takes effect in April, an industry representative warned on Thursday.

The life honorary chair of the Elderly Services Association, Grace Li, said homes need to throw away large quantities of items such as diapers and needles every day.

From April, Hongkongers will have to pay for designated bags for trash under a pay-as-you-throw policy, with the largest bag costing HK$11.

Li said it is not enough for the government to give elderly people on government welfare a HK$10 monthly subsidy.

"They use six diapers a day; is the HK$10 subsidy going to be enough to cover that?" she questioned on an RTHK programme.

"The aim of the policy is to reduce waste from the source - but that's not possible for us, and we can't sort the waste for recycling. The government wants to change people's lifestyles, but diapers aren't something elderly people choose to use."

Li said the homes will also need to dispose of residents' belongings after they have passed away, and she expects larger homes to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on waste charges every year.

Meanwhile, the General Chamber of Pharmacy said around 50 stores will sell the designated bags, but others won't bother because there is only a small profit margin.

Its vice-chairman Cheung Tak-wing said the authorities are giving supermarkets that are supplying the bags a bigger discount, meaning they will make more profit.

"We think that's not very reasonable. We're all contributing to protect the environment, why don't we get the same discount?" he asked.