Letters | Plastic-free Hong Kong could start by growing our own drinking straws
- Readers suggest alternatives to plasticware such as grass straws, propose a simple way to boost voter turnout for Legco elections, support social housing solutions and decry violence against pigeons
In this situation like a Gordian knot, businesses do not want government legislation to cut plastic use, even as environmental groups lobby for firmer action.
Yet businesses do not always have the expertise to come up with plastic-free alternatives. And many Hong Kong consumers still prioritise the convenience of plastic over the consequences for the environment.
05:03
Hope floats for kayaker on mission to clean up Hong Kong’s remote coastlines
But there are natural alternatives to plastics, including to expanded polystyrene foam. One excellent example is using grass as drinking straws, taking advantage of sedge and other straw-like grasses that commonly grow in Southeast Asia.
We propose that the government provide funding as well as affordable and sizeable plots of land for social and environmental groups to grow grasses suitable for use as drinking straws. The government could also offer tax incentives to F&B companies to switch to these straws.
Grass straws would have a very limited carbon footprint, being locally grown and processed. They can be composted or turned into fertiliser without burdening our landfill. As an industry, it can create jobs. I am sure consumers will fully support such an initiative.
As for plastic utensils and containers, bamboo and coconut are very good natural materials to consider for alternatives. Again, our government could fund institutions or tech start-ups to look into this. Hong Kong’s plastic problem is a Gordian knot waiting to be cut with bold action.
Leslie Lee, chairman, Hong Kong Alternatives 2020