Letters | How Hong Kong can dump its throwaway culture and slash plastic waste

Hong Kong’s 50-cent plastic bag levy has stagnated for over a decade and no longer deters

The government could reference other jurisdictions’ single-use plastics policies and introduce more innovative measures

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A shopper at Budgens supermarket in London holds a paper bag with a slogan promoting plastic-free packaging. The fee for plastic bags in England will be doubled from 5 pence to 10 pence from April. Photo: AFP

Published: 7:20am, 15 Mar 2021Updated: 7:20am, 15 Mar 2021

Plastic food containers, utensils and face masks, single-use plastics are everywhere in our daily lives, yet their short-lived existence leaves an indelible mark on the planet.

Masks and plastic bottles take 450 years to decompose, and plastic bags 1,000 years. Myopic purchasing conveniences come with high costs and heavy consequences.

Marine plastic pollution kills millions of sea mammals, turtles and sea birds every year, and humans aren’t exempt. Consumer Council tests last year found microplastics in sea salt samples, indicating plastics have entered the food chain through the surging “plastic soup”, sounding the alarm bell for over-consumption and reckless disposal of plastics.

The World Economic Forum and Ellen MacArthur Foundation warn that the oceans, which endure 8 million tonnes of plastic waste annually, could contain more plastics than fish by 2050.

Consumers International has chosen “Tackling Plastic Pollution” as this year’s theme for World Consumer Rights Day on March 15. In Hong Kong, the Consumer Council calls on government, businesses and consumers to address this pressing issue together and curb plastic waste at source.

A metropolis that lauds speed and efficiency, Hong Kong is sadly also a throwaway society, trailing far behind the rest of the globe in our plastic reduction efforts. In 2019, as much as 2,320 tonnes of plastic waste were sent to landfills each day, of which 768 tonnes were plastic bags. Meanwhile, 1.55 billion plastic drink bottles were dumped in 2019, averaging 200 bottles per capita. The city’s 8 per cent plastic recycling rate falls behind the 18 per cent global rate.

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.css-sioo19{color:#c79a00;}Letters | How Hong Kong can dump its throwaway culture and slash plastic waste

Letters | How Hong Kong can dump its throwaway culture and slash plastic waste