Many small Hong Kong food, drink outlets still dishing out plastic utensils under grace period of ban
- Most restaurants and takeaway shops in tourist areas still using plastic utensils at lunchtime on day ban came into force
- Some operators complain businesses have been left by government to tackle any problems surrounding plastics ban on their own
Many small food and drink outlets in popular Hong Kong tourist areas made use of a six-month grace period and continued to hand out plastic utensils and cutlery on Monday, with some finding paper alternatives impractical.
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Under the first phase of the ban, styrofoam products and throwaway plastic utensils such as cutlery and straws are banned for takeaway purchases although the grace period applies. Single-use plastic tableware is no longer available to patrons dining in.
At an outlet of a popular Taiwanese bubble tea chain on Bute Street in Mong Kok, paper straws are available upon request.
Tourist Zhang Xiaoxiao, from mainland China’s Fujian province, did not like the paper straws as they were softer than plastic ones, making it harder to poke through the plastic film of the drink, and they lost their shape quickly.
“But I’ve got used to it now, as we use them on the mainland, too. I just drink faster now,” the 40-year-old said.
A shop worker said customers often needed an extra straw for their drinks.
Some operators complained that while the government had put an effort in promoting the ban, businesses seemed to have been left to tackle any problems on their own.
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“It’s like [the government] hasn’t made an effort to learn how businesses are run,” said an employee surnamed Man at a shaved ice and tea drink shop in Mong Kok’s Argyle Centre, a retail and office complex.
“The government said they’re implementing these measures but didn’t help us to find solutions or provide guidelines.”
The 30-year-old said paper spoons were not practical for shaved ice orders as they went soggy very quickly, and most customers would require a second one.
The shop is using plastic straws during the grace period. Man said bamboo straws were a possible solution, but they would add to operating costs significantly and customers would have to cover some of the extra.
Man added the shop would use up plastic utensils and cutlery on hand and not buy any more of them. Products were likely to be served in paper cups in the future.
At construction sites on Anderson Road in Sau Mau Ping, meanwhile, workers said they usually went to nearby restaurants for lunch and rarely bought takeaway food.
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Two construction workers enjoying lunch on a bench outside On Tai Shopping Centre said they would not be affected much by the ban as they did not usually order takeaway soup or noodles.
“The food we like, such as pork ribs over rice, is easier to eat with wooden chopsticks than with a fork and spoon,” said one man, who gave his surname as Leung.
“Paper straws are not as good as plastic straws but that is okay, we will just do without them and drink from the cup.”
At a park in Kai Tak, a landscaping worker in her fifties said she was not aware Monday was the first day of the ban.
The woman, surnamed Chan, said she took away fried rice for lunch but the plastic spoon and fork provided were too flat and ineffective for scooping.
“Maybe I’ll start bringing my own utensils,” she said.
