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Hongkongers last year threw away enough mooncakes to cover 25 basketball courts, a survey by an environmental protection group found.
More than 2.12 million mooncakes were discarded last year, up 12 per cent from 2009. 
On average, each household disposed of nine-tenths of a  mooncake, according to Green Power's annual survey of 287 households on their consumption and celebrating habits.
Seventy per cent of families valued an 'exquisite package' of mooncakes; only 10 per cent preferred simple packaging. 
The more exquisite the package was, the more waste it would produce, said Dr Cheng Luk-ki,division head of scientific research and conservation at Green Power.
A four-mooncake box set had at least 11 individual items of plastic, and as many as 47, Green Power said. 
'If people have leftover mooncakes, we hope they will check the  expiry dates and donate them to charitable organisations or less fortunate people before they expire,' Cheng said.
Half the households surveyed report food wastage after family gatherings, both at home and in restaurants; 72 per cent of these  said a fifth of the food was left over. 
Many families celebrate the festival with barbecues. On average, each household leaves an average of 10 meatballs, 11 sausages and 10 steaks untouched. A fifth of households said they threw away the leftovers straight away. Based on these figures, Green Power estimated that more than 481 tonnes of food were wasted during the Mid-Autumn Festival. 
An average of 1.4 lanterns per family were bought last year, and an average of 1.2 per family were thrown away.  Half of the households surveyed said they bought new lanterns instead of using those from the previous year. 
Green Power  released the survey findings yesterday.



Discarded mooncakes can cover 25 ball courts