Hong Kong is in danger of lagging behind the mainland on environmental protection - because of its lax attitude to polystyrene lunch boxes.
Green groups said the territory was failing in its international obligations after Chinese authorities launched a ban on polystyrene lunch boxes in the Zhejiang capital of Hangzhou, known as the 'Garden City' for its scenery.
All fast-food restaurants in Hangzhou will have to use paper boxes from September 15.
In Hong Kong, more than 22 tonnes of styrofoam lunch boxes, cups and trays are dumped in local landfills daily, mostly from fast-food restaurants.
Styrofoam is composed of chloroflyorocarbon (CFC) chemicals, said by scientists to be responsible for the destruction of the Earth's ozone layer.
Hong Kong, through Britain, is considered a signatory of the 1988 Montreal Protocol, which has targeted the reduction of CFCs. But green groups have accused the territory of only paying lip service to the agreement.
