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Hong Kong environmental issues
OpinionLetters

Letters | Hong Kong needs to get on with schemes to reduce waste

  • Readers discuss doubts and complaints about the city’s waste-charging scheme and the plan to ban restaurants from using single-use plastic, and reports of domestic helpers being mistreated

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Restaurant staff use styrofoam boxes to pack takeaway food in Yau Ma Tei on January 29. Photo: Jelly Tse
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Facing a barrage of questions and doubts, the Hong Kong government has repeatedly postponed the waste-charging scheme. Charging is now set to start on August 1 rather than April 1. On top of that, there has been discussion on extending the grace period – during which people caught throwing away their rubbish without a designated bag will be issued a verbal warning rather than a fine – beyond the planned six months.
Having drawn blood, the scheme’s detractors are now targeting the ban on single-use plastic items (“Hong Kong restaurants grapple with impending ban on plastic, with some saying it costs too much to go green”, February 11). The Legislative Council passed the Product Eco-responsibility (Amendment) Bill 2023 for regulating disposable plastic tableware and other plastic products on October 18 last year. The government chose Earth Day on April 22, 2024, as an auspicious day for this bill to come into effect.

The bill aims to halt the insane amount of styrofoam products, disposable plastic straws, stirrers, cutlery and plates thrown away every day in Hong Kong, a city where the labour force is heavily reliant on takeaway food. As restaurant operators are preparing for the implementation of this new law, many of our thousands of eateries worry about the cost and convenience of alternative materials. Their voices, amplified by the media and legislators, are distracting Hong Kong’s millions of consumers. Yes, boxes, cups and cutlery made of alternative materials are more expensive for now, but they only make up a small portion of the overall cost of the daily takeaway meals.

A positive attitude to change can surely overcome whatever implementation issues and queries the community may have. Moreover, the catering industry should seriously consider offering discounts to consumers who bring their own cutlery and container – or, even better, clearly mark separate charges for disposable materials on their price lists.

Environmental activists and green groups have yet to find their footing after Covid-19 and the new security legislation. It is time for them to rally the many like-minded residents who are deeply concerned about plastic pollution, and to urge the government to implement waste and recycling legislation expediently. I urge the government to ensure the new waste and recycling laws come into effect without delay.

Paul Zimmerman, former district councillor and CEO, Designing Hong Kong Limited

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