Hong Kong to delay first phase of ban on plastic tableware at restaurants, as activists lament official ‘habitual procrastination’
- Environment and Ecology Bureau had planned to start ban late this year or at beginning of next one at earliest, but it’s now pushed back to second quarter of 2024
- ‘The lack of a certain date gives authorities an excuse to procrastinate, which in turn becomes an excuse for businesses and the public to do so as well,’ activist says
Hong Kong environmental authorities have said they will postpone a ban on the sale and distribution of disposable plastic tableware at restaurants, leading green groups to express disappointment over the government’s “habitual procrastination”.
The Environment and Ecology Bureau had earlier said it aimed to start the ban late this year or at the beginning of the next one “at the earliest”, but a spokeswoman on Thursday revealed the regulation would instead be rolled out in the second quarter of 2024.
“The implementation time of the first stage of the regulation depends on the time when the Legislative Council passes the bill,” she said, referring to the legal amendment that was scheduled for its second and third readings next Wednesday in the legislature, its first meeting after the summer recess.
“If it is passed on October 18, the first phase of control will be carried out in the second quarter of next year, with the specific implementation date to be announced later.”
The Council for Sustainable Development in April last year recommended a progressive ban on the use, sale and free distribution of single-use plastic products over a three-year period.
This March, the government introduced a bill calling for a two-phase ban based on suggestions made by environmental affairs advisers.