The Environmental Protection Department recommended last week to give priority to the control of disposable plastic tableware and ban all local sales. Restaurants will ban the provision of disposable plastic tableware to customers as early as 2025.
The Secretary for the Environment, Huang Jinxing, said at a public event today (17th) that most of the shops support the ban on plastic tableware, emphasizing that the control will be gradual, adopting the easy and difficult policy to gradually regulate, and then completely ban plastic tableware, plastic drinking straws, and stirring rod Wait.
He also hoped that the public could reduce waste at the source and make more use of reusable tableware instead of plastic tableware.
(Left) Ms. Leung Tang Ching-yee, founder and patron of Qi Xifu (first from left) Mr. Huang Jinxing, Director of the Environment Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, GBS Justice of the Peace (first right) Professor Leung Zubin, Chairman of Qi Xifu Executive Committee, BBS MH JP (right) Executive Qi Xifu Committee member Ms. Qiu Li Cien.
(Photo by Xiao Xiaoci)
Hope to fully control the prohibition policy in two stages
Huang Jinxing said that the general direction of the ban on plastic tableware is mainly to completely ban it. Because styrofoam and plastic tableware have a greater impact on environmental protection, it is difficult to recycle. It needs to be controlled at the source to prohibit the use and sale of plastic tableware.
The policy of banning plastic tableware is divided into two phases. In the first phase, the use of plastic tableware for dine-in and takeaway is prohibited.
He said that because Hong Kong has banned disposable plastic tableware later than other foreign countries, I believe there should be sufficient alternatives on the market in the future, and the price will be more affordable.
By the time the second stage of control is implemented, alternatives need to have higher requirements.
Huang pointed out that he understands that the catering industry is very concerned about the banned tableware and will continue to communicate with the industry, but the current focus is to make the substitute tableware in the market sufficient to meet the needs of the market.
In addition, when asked if there is any plan to regulate plastic packaging, Huang Jinxing pointed out that according to the Hong Kong Resource Recycling Blueprint 2035, the plastic beverage container producer responsibility plan has been consulted. After completing the policy of banning disposable plastic tableware, the next stage will be controlled. Prohibit plastic packaging.
Recycled kitchen waste into fertilizer for organic planting
The "Cherish Good Fortune in School" project earlier assisted schools in recovering food waste and recycling the food waste into organic fertilizer. It also provided schools with small electric food waste composting machines, food waste buckets, mobile cultivation boxes, composting mixing tanks, and organic fertilizers. Seeds and farming tools are used for organic planting in school gardens.
In addition, lectures on food handling and food waste issues will be held.
In this year's project, 10 participating schools were awarded the "Cherish Blessing School" gold award. Among them, the kindergarten of Minsheng College who participated in the project for the second time won the gold award.
Teacher Pan, a representative of the school, said, "(This activity) is a good one, because there are so many opportunities for children to come into contact with activities that cherish food."
The school’s classrooms are also equipped with three-color environmental protection boxes for students, teachers and students to use, hoping to raise students’ environmental awareness from an early age.
In addition, the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals Liao Ende Memorial Kindergarten, which has participated in the program for the third time this year, the principal, Ms. Huang, said that each class has a "Little Cherish Ambassador" and uses the reward program to encourage children to avoid wasting food as much as possible.
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