More than 11,000 plastic bottles collected on Hong Kong beaches in past year, with over a third possibly washed over from mainland China
- Some 35 per cent of the waste was found with labelling that suggested origins from across the border
- Green group calls for central government to introduce legislation prompting manufacturers to recycle
More than 11,000 plastic bottles were collected on Hong Kong beaches in the past year, with over a third of the staggering amount of waste believed to be from the mainland, an NGO has found.
The Green Earth urged authorities across the border to introduce legislation prompting manufacturers to recycle, and called on mainland brands – including C’estbon, which produced the largest portion of the beach waste collected – to set targets for reducing plastic usage.
The group conducted the study on single-use plastics from July last year to this month at 25 locations, including beaches at Lung Kwu Tan in Tuen Mun and outlying island Tai O.
“On average, we collected more than 400 bottles at each location, and this figure deserves concern and action from residents, governments and manufacturers,” Edwin Lau Che-feng, executive director of The Green Earth, said.
Of the 11,321 bottles collected throughout 43 clean-up sessions, C’estbon was identified as the manufacturer of 12.4 per cent of the waste.