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Hong Kong environmental issues
OpinionLetters

Letters | Why Hong Kong needs urgent action on disposable plastic tableware

  • Proposal to ban in two phases, with the first phase not due to come into force until 2025, does not come close to reflecting the urgency of the problem

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Various plastic goods weighing 1.3kg, equivalent to the amount of plastic that someone could eat in five years, are displayed on a table in this illustration taken in Tokyo, Japan, on November 12, 2020. People could be ingesting the equivalent of a credit card of plastic a week, a 2019 study by WWF International concluded, mainly in plastic-infused drinking water but also via food like shellfish, which tends to be eaten whole so the plastic in their digestive systems is also consumed. Photo: Reuters
Letters
The Environment Bureau is conducting a public consultation on the regulation of disposable plastic tableware in Hong Kong, ending on September 8.

In 2019, plastic and foam tableware waste together accounted for 200 tonnes a day. Most of these were single-use items. Surprisingly, they add up to even more than the daily total disposal amount of PET drink bottles and liquid cartons (196 tonnes)

Local and overseas studies continue to discover microplastics – micro-particles which are broken down from plastic products and packaging, and then flushed into the sea – making their way into the bodies of marine species and, eventually, our food chain.

Therefore, regulating disposable plastics is an urgent task and is picking up speed globally. Economies in Asia and the West have started banning a wide range of single-use plastics. For instance, mainland China banned the production and sale of foam tableware as of the beginning of this year.
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Hong Kong’s Environment Bureau has proposed to ban disposable foam and plastic tableware in two phases, with the first phase not due to come into force until 2025 and no firm timelines for the second phase. This does not come close to reflecting the urgency of the problem.

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The proposal to regulate such tableware generated from dine-in restaurants and takeaways in two phases is unfair and ineffective as both generate similar plastic waste.

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