Even though the Mid-Autumn Festival celebration and the mooncake extravaganza that accompanies it are not until October, many bakeries are already producing mooncakes to meet peak season demand.
Friends of the Earth (FoE)Hong Kong sounded an early alarm last week, urging producers to keep the mooncake packaging simple and environmentally friendly.
Surveys have shown that 69 per cent of Hongkongers polled would buy these green-designed pastries.
FoE (HK) warned that added waste will put a greater burden on landfills which are operating at near capacity.
Since 2003, FoE (HK) has organised a series of activities for their annual 'Moonkick Action' campaign, which highlights pollution risks associated with over-packaged mooncakes.
According to statistics, the average four-mooncake box last year used up to 13 packaging components. Based on sales of four million mooncake boxes, that's 52 million units.
As a result, this year's FoE (HK) campaign also includes a Simple Packaging Contest - with the theme of reducing and recycling - which invites bakeries to make a commitment to simplifying their packaging.