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Ernest Kao

After sending out corporate gift hampers that were two-thirds full of styrofoam bricks, one developer says it regrets the design and is now collecting the packaging from recipients for recycling.
Extravagant packaging is a feature of Mid-Autumn Festival gift hampers. The Sunday Morning Post examined a number of samples this month and found many contained unnecessary materials. Much of this will end up in the city's landfills, which are nearing capacity.
But two property developers stand out for excess when it comes to packaging their festival gifts this year.
Five-star Royal Plaza Hotel in Mong Kok, owned by Sun Hung Kai Properties, sent out a selection of fruit, sweets and mooncakes in a felt bag. But two-thirds of that bag was taken up by solid styrofoam bricks.
Each of the 43cm bricks weighed 160 grams - bulking up the total weight by a quarter.
Yet the group sent out other hampers without the excess - in one, just bubble wrap lined the bottom of a rattan basket.
Meanwhile, Sino Group sent out Chinese treasure chests containing goodies on a 56-gram bed of styrofoam. The chest, made from wood and fabric, weighs 2.6kg and was wrapped in another layer of plastic.
A spokeswoman for Sun Hung Kai apologised for the excessive packaging and said the hotel on Friday began collecting back the styrofoam bricks for recycling.
She would not say how many of the hampers had been distributed, but admitted that the firm had failed to audit the designs this year and said it would conduct an "overall review" of its packaged hampers.
"We always instruct our suppliers to follow our strict environmental standards," she said.
In a separate statement, the group said it regretted that its supplier did not adhere to its policy. It pledged to improve procurement to ensure it meets sustainability standards.
A spokeswoman for Sino Group, meanwhile, said only that the company would work with its supplier to present traditional gifts in "an even more sustainable way".
Frances Yeung Hoi-shan, Friends of the Earth's senior environmental affairs officer, said the tradition of sending out corporate hampers should be curbed.
"I don't recommend this sort of culture. It is all for presentation and for face," she said. "Even if you recycle some of [the excess packaging], chances are you're going to use it only once and it is still going to be a waste."
Greeners Action executive director Angus Ho Hon-wai said the hampers could even become a financial burden on recipients if proposed fees for solid waste were introduced. The charge would be nominal for a hamper - about HK$2 for the Sino version, based on a 60-cent-per-kilogram landfill-disposal cost. But Ho said such extravagance came at the expense of the environment.
"The big companies always talk about CSR (corporate social responsibility) … They should set environmental guidelines for their suppliers or public relations firms in the procurement of hampers," he said.
Ho added that styrofoam was extremely wasteful. The material is difficult to recycle in Hong Kong because it is so light and not profitable. "Most of it just ends up in a landfill," he said.
Michelle Au Wing-tze, political assistant to the environment minister, urged anyone who received a hamper to return extravagant packaging or wasteful containers to the sender.
Some 17,000 tonnes of styrofoam is dumped in landfills each year, government data showed.


Developers pledge less wasteful gift hamper packaging … next year

Some hampers are wasteful.

News

Hong Kong

Gift baskets are often stuffed with styrofoam and other materials that end up in landfills, but some firms say they will halt wasteful practice


After sending out corporate gift hampers that were two-thirds full of styrofoam bricks, one developer says it regrets the design and is now collecting the packaging from recipients for recycling.


Developers pledge less wasteful gift hamper packaging … next year

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Gift baskets are often stuffed with styrofoam and other materials that end up in landfills, but some firms say they will halt wasteful practice

Gift baskets are often stuffed with styrofoam and other materials that end up in landfills, but some firms say they will halt wasteful practice