I agree with Abby Luk that we tend to order too many dishes in restaurants that we cannot possibly finish, especially when we have a large group of people dining with us (“We can all help to reduce food waste in the city”, March 1).
During festive seasons and other public holidays, buffets are very popular in restaurants in Hong Kong. Again, many diners put more food on their plates than they will actually eat.
In this regard, perhaps we can learn from a policy I came across in the UK.
I lived in London for 10 years and a Chinese restaurant offering buffet-style lunches imposed a penalty charge for each patron who left a plate of unfinished food. This acted as a reminder of the effort by farmers that goes into growing rice.
At first, they experienced a slight drop in business, because people were not used to the concept. However, eventually they became accustomed to the policy, that the more food they wasted the higher the penalty.
The habit of wasting food stopped and the restaurant was able to remove these penalties.