Almost 70 per cent of Hong Kong’s small- and medium-sized restaurants are still offering disposable utensils for free, the government has said as the city marked one month of its single-use plastics ban.
The Environment and Ecology Bureau (EEB) said in a Facebook post on Wednesday that while most major chain restaurants had adopted non-plastic alternatives, smaller eateries had yet to make the switch.
Most small- and medium-sized restaurants still provided disposable utensils for free. Others charged HK$1 or HK$2 for plastic cutlery, the bureau said.
“The restaurants that have not made the switch… because they hope to finish their stock of [plastic utensils] to prevent wasting them,” the bureau wrote in its Chinese post. “Only a small portion are still looking for suitable suppliers of replacement utensils.”
Hong Kong implemented a partial ban on single-use plastics in April. Businesses have a six-month grace period to adapt and authorities will not enforce the rules during this time.
Under the first phase, restaurants are banned from providing plastic tableware such as utensils and straws for both dine-in and takeaway. In the case of items which the government classifies as having few viable alternatives, such as food containers and their lids, restaurants are still allowed to provide them for takeaway customers.
The second phase is tentatively set to begin next year, with more items – including plastic boxes for takeaway – set to be banned.
Green Tableware Platform
There has been confusion about how the rules apply in non-restaurant premises that also serve food, with people also raising questions about what counts as dining in and taking away, as the rules differ.
Local media have reported mixed instructions from staff at convenience stores and supermarkets – some of which have on-site snack stalls – about whether they are allowed to eat their food there if it is served in a plastic container.
In interviews with HKFP last month, restaurateurs said they were having difficulty sourcing cost-effective replacements to plastic. It had also been difficult to find viable alternatives, some owners said, pointing to paper containers which could not withstand moisture and high temperatures.
The EEB also said in its Facebook post on Wednesday that the Environmental Protection Department’s Green Tableware Platform was taking applications from suppliers of plastic alternatives. The suppliers can apply to be listed in the platform after submitting quality and safety certifications, to be vetted by the government’s Hong Kong Quality Assurance Agency.
Earlier this month, lawmaker Chan Siu-hung raised concerns in the Legislative Council about studies showing that some alternatives to plastic contain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which he said could “lead to health problems such as liver damage, infertility and cancer.” Chan asked whether the government would consider requiring suppliers to provide “relevant safety test reports” when submitting applications for the Green Tableware Platform.
Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan said in a written response that PFAS was a “general term for a large group of chemically synthetic substances” commonly found in items such as clothing and food packaging materials. The risk to human health associated with products that contain PFAS was “very low,” Tse said.
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