IMPACTS OF THE PANDEMIC

With a rise in delivery and takeaway meal orders, the mass of single-use packaging waste generated from these meals has grown immensely. The Hong Kong population now generates enough disposable food and drink containers to fill the IFC building 48 times over every year.

A survey by the NGO Greeners Action found delivery and takeaway food consumption in Hong Kong had nearly doubled during the pandemic.

Food delivery through apps has seen particular traction as a result of lockdowns and dining restrictions. Data from Hong Kong’s top three delivery platforms revealed that orders during the lockdown in early 2020 were more than double the year prior.

With all takeaway meals being served in single-use containers, per-capita waste generation by consumers rises mercilessly as the pandemic continues.

Some establishments allow consumers to bring their own food and drink containers for takeaway, a few even offering discounts for those that do so. However, the pandemic has also bred the misconception that single-use packaging offers a more hygienic dining experience, leading to fewer businesses accepting reusable containers.

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In some circumstances, such as the two- or three-week quarantines served in designated facilities, disposable meal packaging is wholly unavoidable. Restrictions on in-house dining have also shifted traditionally dine-in restaurants to a heavy reliance on takeaway meal boxes.

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Few people are willing to take the time to thoroughly wash plastic containers, dirtied and greased with food residue, for recycling.

Most takeaway and delivery meal boxes are made of polypropylene plastic or expanded polystyrene, commonly known as styrofoam. While these containers are lightweight and convenient to store in bulk, they are rarely recycled due to contamination with leftover food particles.

The seemingly eco-friendly paper takeaway box may not be as innocent as it appears. Studies conducted by US consumer advocacy organisations found that two-thirds of paper takeaway containers contained harmful levels of fluorine on their oil-resistant lining.

Even without such chemicals, this lining prevents containers, including takeaway coffee cups, from being accepted into Hong Kong’s standard paper recycling streams. They must be disposed of in general landfill waste bins, and would otherwise contaminate paper recycling bins.

Compostable packaging is another traditional packaging alternative that is commonly heralded as a green solution. Unfortunately, Hong Kong lacks the commercial composting facilities to process compostable packaging, thereby negating the environmental sustainability of this option.

As a result of the lack of systemic schemes in place to address these barriers, disposable food and drink containers continue to be sent directly to landfills in unsustainable numbers.

A REGIONAL STRAGGLER

On the whole, Hong Kong’s per capita disposal rate has increased in recent years, with declining recycling rates resulting in more waste being sent to landfills.

Last month, the government released a report on its long-term waste management plans. Known as the Waste Blueprint, the report outlines waste targets and strategies for implementation from 2022 to 2035.

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The prior Waste Blueprint, released in 2013, set a target to reduce per capita waste disposal from 1.27kg per day to 0.8kg per day by 2022.

Data from the new blueprint showed the city had not only failed to meet this target, but per capita waste disposal had actually increased by 16 per cent during this period.

In comparison, Taiwan has reduced its daily waste disposal from 1.14kg per capita in 1998 to under 0.4kg per capita in 2015. This feat was in part achieved through the implementation of a municipal waste charging system, in which households were charged by the bag for their waste.

In fact, the Legco Bills Committee decided to discontinue its evaluation of the waste charging bill in 2018, following more than a decade of consideration. A spokesperson for the Environment Bureau stated that they would instead “adopt a multipronged approach to achieve waste reduction effectively rather than relying solely on the implementation of MSW charging”.

The waste charging scheme has recently made a return to the Bills Committee, but there remains less than half a year before it expires with the end of the current Legco term. This time around, the government cannot let this chance slip away.

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THE TIDE IS HIGH

With the rapidly rising tides of disposable takeaway packaging and the lack of governmental policy to mitigate the issue, Hong Kong is quite literally drowning in waste.

Until the practice of “bring your own” or incentivisation of reusable containers schemes are normalised in Hong Kong’s market, the city’s disposable packaging waste will continue to grow beyond today’s immeasurable levels.

Consumers and businesses must urgently rethink their relationship with single-use packaging in the context of food consumption. Individuals and businesses can instigate change by normalising “bring your own” container behaviour for takeaway meals and educating themselves on proper recycling protocols.

Simultaneously, the government must pull its weight in long-overdue regional efforts, starting by implementing municipal waste charging and banning single-use plastics and expanded polystyrene food containers.

These steps are necessary and urgent to mitigate the rising tide of food-service waste in Hong Kong, before the city is swept under completely.

Ashley Bang is a data scientist whose research focuses on climate change and conservation biology. She speaks English, Korean and Mandarin.