Take Away – What Not to Eat From

In October 2023 the Hong Kong Legislative Council passed the “Product Eco-responsibility (Amendment) Bill 2023” for regulating disposable plastic tableware and other plastic products with the aim of enhancing existing food producer responsibility schemes.

Under the Amendment Ordinance nine types of disposable plastic tableware are prohibited from local sale outlets and catering premises are prohibited from providing customers with any one or more of these nine types.

Implementation of this prohibition commenced on the 22 April 2024.

This new law does not target individuals but does target providers and sellers of disposable plastic where the biggest current use in respect of food products served in and by restaurants, hotels and retailers as well as physical stores and online platforms.  Use per se of items by individual consumers in offices and other private premises are not subject to this new regulation.

In the initial phase following the date of introduction as the adaptation period the main target is expanded polystyrene receptacles and other disposable plastic tableware such as stirrers, straws, knifes, forks, spoons and plates.

Follow an extensive outreach progress by the Environmental Protection Department which has since October 2023 carried out active and extensive contact of business premises to inform about the new law focussing upon promotion and education and relevant advice to help target businesses to comply with the requirements under the new law.

The law provides for a 6 month grace period during which all establishments will be expected to rearrange their work methods and processes to ban the prohibited products and to work out and adopt a programme to revamp the Green Tableware Platform set up to assist providers in the trade through the unique QR code to register every product unexceptional.  Announcements will be made through promotional videos, posters and advertisements for relevant trades through various channels and during the 6 month period of the adaptation period all providers will have been well informed of the new law and enabled to adopt alternative non-infringing container and utensil products in plastic.

Following the transitional period the EPD when finding any business not compliant with the new law will engage with it and only in the event of continuing failure to comply with the new law will appropriate enforcement actions the promulgated by the EPD.

Clearly this measure is very important in Hong Kong and stands as a significant contribution by Hong Kong to the worldwide coordinated effort to adopt such controls through legislation.