Ban 'unnecessary' Umbrella Bags: Green Group

Greeners Action on Friday called on the government to ban shops and other businesses from handing out plastic umbrella bags.

The environmental group said it recently went to more than 180 bank branches and restaurants on rainy days and found that 78 percent of the banks and 47 of the eateries provided the disposable bags to customers.

The group’s Beatrice Siu said the plastic bags may be cheap and easy to use, but they’re unnecessary.

“I found that the banks and restaurants are actually providing other options, for example dryers and carpets. In some of the cases, they have actually coated non-slippery coatings on the floor tiles,” she said.

“It means that they have sufficient options for them to avoid the floor getting slippery. So we think that the umbrella bags are unnecessary.”

The green group urged the government to ban the use of umbrella bags in the next few years.