Advertisement
Consumers
Hong KongHealth & Environment

Online shopping in Hong Kong ‘contributes to wasteful packaging’, DAB claims

Political party estimates packaging could produce 1,460 tonnes of waste each year – the weight of 122 double-decker buses – and suppliers must be charged

2-MIN READ2-MIN
The DAB political party says goods purchased online end up with too much packaging. Photo: Bloomberg
Su Xinqi

The popular trend of online shopping has contributed to the waste problem in Hong Kong, with the city yet to tackle excessive packaging, a lawmaker has warned.

The warning came as government statistics showed the number of online shoppers rose toover 1.7 million in 2016, three times more than in 2005.

Advertisement

According to a survey carried out by the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong last month, products ordered online tended to be wrapped in three layers of packaging. It estimated that this could produce 1,460 tonnes of waste each year – the weight of 122 double-decker buses.

The DAB’s Chan Hak-kan, who chairs the Legislative Council’s environmental affairs panel, called on the government to speed up the producer responsibility scheme whereby sellers and logistics companies would be charged for packing materials to discourage waste.
Advertisement
A worker gets lost behind a mass of packages at a delivery centre in mainland China. Photo: Simon Song
A worker gets lost behind a mass of packages at a delivery centre in mainland China. Photo: Simon Song
“The Environment Bureau wanted the scheme to cover six waste categories, including packing materials, in 2005 but has got things done only in two areas,” Chan said. These cover plastic bags and some electronic goods. A bill covering glass bottles was passed last year.
Advertisement
Select Voice
Select Speed
1.00x