Hong Kong has implemented the first phase of a ban on single-use plastics, aiming to stop the sale and distribution of Styrofoam products and disposable plastic utensils, as reported by AP News on April 22. Under the new rule effective on Monday, restaurants will be prohibited from providing single-use plastic cutlery including forks, spoons, straws, and plates to both dine-in and takeaway customers. However, businesses will be granted a six-month adaption period to comply with the new rule, and plastic food containers and cups can still be given out for takeaways. In addition, the new rule will ban the use of single-use plastic products ranging from bottled water to shower caps at sites including hotels. The legislation intends to curb throwaway plastic usage at the source and mitigate pollution.

Hong Kong generated 2,369 tons of plastic waste per day in 2022, ranking as the second-largest contributor to solid waste. However, due to a lack of material recovery facilities (MRF) used to sort recyclables from the waste stream, only 12.3% of the plastic waste was recovered for recycling, with the rest ending up in landfills. This has exacerbated the pressure on Hong Kong’s limited landfill capacity. The government estimates that the city’s three landfills will be filled up by 2026. To address the waste disposal problem, the Legislative Council adopted the Product Eco-responsibility (Amendment) Bill 2023 last October. The government is set to roll out the second phase of the bill in 2025, banning more single-use plastics.

Sources:

https://apnews.com/article/hong-kong-plastics-ban-pollution-c54df7478e84166fc7f3f69c85bfeab4

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3259948/tourists-business-travellers-take-hong-kongs-new-ban-single-use-plastics-their-stride

https://hongkongfp.com/2024/04/22/hong-kongs-ban-on-single-use-plastics-begins-but-businesses-have-6-months-to-adapt/

https://multimedia.scmp.com/infographics/news/hong-kong/article/3259438/plastic-ban/index.html