Hong Kong counts down to single-use plastic ban, but loophole allows people to still buy throwaway items online. Will they?
- Ban targets sale and distribution of plastic items, but not possession, so people can still buy online
- Items covered in first stage of ban include glow sticks, plastic toothpicks and plastic-stemmed cotton buds
After Hong Kong insurance agent Kyle Wong showed daughters Keila and Kiara Instagram glow stick dance videos two years ago, the twins were enthralled and immediately wanted to try it themselves.
The videos, popular on social media platforms such as Instagram and Douyin, the Chinese equivalent of TikTok, show people dancing in the dark with glow sticks attached to their clothes, creating colourful human light shows. Some of the top clips have garnered 40 million views.
Wong, 34, said he and his wife started to make their own videos with their girls, now six, and hoped the short clips would be part of their childhood memories.
“The kids are entertained. They also have a good workout and great fun,” he said.
The first stage comes into force on April 22, with a ban on the distribution or sale of single-use items such as glow sticks, thunder sticks, plastic toothpicks and plastic-stemmed cotton buds.
Restaurants will no longer be allowed to offer styrofoam products and throwaway plastic utensils, including knives, forks, spoons, swizzle sticks and straws, for dine-in or takeaway.
