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Opinion | Hong Kong plastic ban: let’s aim for reusables, not green disposables
- Many restaurants have started to switch from plastic disposables to greener disposables – but Hong Kong should be pushing for reusables right from the start
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The first phase of Hong Kong’s ban on disposable plastic tableware and other single-use products will take effect in about a month, on Earth Day. Efforts to promote this plastic ban have started to appear more frequently on social and other media, including print and electronic media, and in MTR stations.
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Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan recently told the Legislative Council that about 80 per cent of the 20,000 small and medium-sized restaurants surveyed by the Environmental Protection Department were unprepared.
In my view, most restaurants are unprepared for two main reasons. First, plastic-free tableware is almost certain to cost more than what caterers have been using, such as polystyrene boxes and plastic cutlery. Tse has told legislators that the prices of non-plastic alternatives such as straws, stirrers, knives, forks, spoons and plates are comparable to the plastic ones.
But the paper submitted by the Environmental Protection Department to Legco last April clearly shows a big price gap when it comes to food containers. For instance, a polystyrene container costs 32-50 HK cents but an alternative made with unlined paper or plant fibre costs HK$1-2.95. This suggests the cost increase could be anywhere from twice as much to over nine times.
Second, given the repeated delays of the municipal waste-charging scheme, caterers might have doubts that the plastic ban will stay on schedule. Even if there is no delay, there will be a six-month grace period before full-force enforcement. As such, many restaurants are taking a wait-and-see attitude.
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What worries me is that many of the restaurants preparing for compliance plan to switch to disposable tableware made of wood, bamboo or paper – instead of reusable options.
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