Hong Kong should do more to pressure producers of single-use plastics, Greenpeace says

Hong Kong should do more to hold producers of single-use plastics accountable if it hopes to curb waste, a leading green group has said after finding a large amount of packaging from major drinks businesses in two of the city’s rivers.

Greenpeace Hong Kong said on Saturday that plastic accounted for 97 per cent of the 3,263 pieces of rubbish it found in the Pui O River and Lam Tsuen River over a three-month period and 70 per cent of the items were packaging.

Food packaging was the largest category, making up more than a quarter of all plastic waste, followed by drinks containers and shipping packaging.

“While the government focuses on funding end-of-life recycling and building incinerators, there has been slow progress in regulating corporate production of single-use plastics,” said Leanne Tam Wing-lam, a Greenpeace campaigner.

Tam called on the government to set a specific target for plastic reduction or recycling under a producer responsibility scheme set to be passed by the Legislative Council next year.

The NGO’s recent results aligned with its previous findings over the prevalence of polythene and polypropylene – commonly used in single-use plastic packaging and takeaway utensils – in local streams and the faeces of wild mammals.

A grace period for the first phase of the city’s single-use plastic ban, which took effect in April, will end on Monday.