“We have been offering free consultations to food and beverage vendors to review their current packaging alongside the new requirements and providing ‘truly’ sustainable plastic-free packaging alternatives to ensure they comply with the new regulations.”

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Testing out eco-friendly utensils for takeaway food under Hong Kong’s single-use plastic ban

Testing out eco-friendly utensils for takeaway food under Hong Kong’s single-use plastic ban

“Reducing plastic waste has all along been an international consensus, taking into account the negative impact brought about by plastic pollution,” said Diane Wong Shuk-han, the Under Secretary for Environment and Ecology, speaking at Greenway 2024, a climate change conference held in Hong Kong on April 29.

“The regulation aims to achieve plastic reduction at source, by prohibiting local manufacture, sale and supply of regulated products.

“In formulating the regulation, we have taken into account the availability and affordability of the alternative products in the market, as well as the local situation, so as to minimise the impacts on people’s daily lives.”

According to statistics on Hong Kong’s municipal solid waste dumped at landfill sites in 2022, the average daily quantity of plastic rubbish was 2,369 tonnes. That is roughly equivalent to the weight of 155 double decker buses and accounts for 21.3 per cent of the city’s total solid waste, Wong said.

Hong Kong’s 10-year plan to cut waste has failed to deliver

Founded in 2019, Sustainabl. Planet provides products such as lunchboxes, soup bowls, coffee cups and cutlery made from bagasse pulp – derived from sugar cane after its juice has been harvested – and paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. It has partnered with restaurant groups such as Pirata Group, as well as the airline HK Express and hotels and developers in the city.

“We welcome the new policy and we are confident the new regulations are raising awareness of the plastic pollution problem both in Hong Kong and globally,” said Oliver.

ReCube, the Hong Kong-based operator of a reusable tableware rental platform, has also benefited from the disposable plastic takeaway ban.

The number of restaurants using its service will double in the second quarter of the year, and at least 32 restaurants have agreed to partner with the firm by the end of May, according to Kelvin Tsui, co-founder and CEO of ReCube.

“We have gotten more inquiries from restaurants because they need to find alternatives to the existing plastic tableware,” Tsui said in an interview. “What we are trying to provide is an alternative where the dining experience is as good as [disposable] plastic, but at the same time is very convenient.”

Founded in 2023, Recube rents out reusable bowls, cups and boxes made of food-grade polypropylene plastic. It has partnered with restaurant and coffee shops Sensory Zero, inno300, Bijas Vegetarian Restaurant, as well as the Silvermine Beach Resort on Lantau Island and other businesses.

“Restaurants are concerned about the cost of switching to non-plastic disposables, and they are concerned about the quality,” said Tsui.

“What we are trying to achieve is to help them save that part of the cost by using our service, and at the same time our containers are as good as [disposable] plastic. They are very durable and don’t get soggy easily.

“The reuse model is very sustainable because we can create a truly zero waste takeaway experience for our partner restaurants.”

In the first quarter of the year, 37 per cent of food outlets reported an increase in takeaway business, according to Deliveroo’s Restaurant Confidence Index released on Monday which surveyed over 400 establishments.

Deliveroo partnered with Sustainabl. Planet in 2022 as part of its HK$2 million (US$260,000) subsidy scheme to incentivise restaurants to use plastic-free packaging.