Hong Kong’s environmental chief has stressed that a new plastics ban is not “unreasonable”, as he sought to address confusion among caterers and patrons over what counts as dining in or taking away.
Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan said on Saturday that the policy’s main purpose was to educate the public on how to reduce waste, stressing it was not intended to inconvenience businesses.
The launch of the ban’s first phase earlier this week met with backlash over a Japanese discount chain Don Don Donki using cardboard containers for pre-packaged sushi intended for dine-in patrons, prompting confusion among the public.
“If one’s business is meant to prepare ready-to-go food, we think that should be deemed as takeaway, and that means it is not necessary to be sealed; otherwise customers will not be able to choose,” Tse told a radio programme.
“Just like sushi, if people cannot see what they want to choose, this law will be quite unreasonable. How are they going to pick [what they want]?”
The first stage of the ban prevents restaurants from offering customers any polystyrene products, disposable plastic straws, stirrers, cutlery or plates for dine-in or takeaway meals.
It also covers items used by patrons dining in, such as single-use cups, cup lids and food containers.
Responding to the sushi saga, the Environmental Protection Department said on Thursday that supermarkets selling pre-packaged food on their shelves for immediate consumption could categorise them as takeaway items, meaning they could use plastic containers.
But some supermarkets with on-site dining areas serving cooked food would be considered to be offering dine-in services and subject to the same rules as restaurants, it added.
Tse explained on Saturday that authorities would take into consideration whether the food was prepared for taking away and whether most customers opted not to dine in.
“Even if there are a few tables and generally understood as dine-in, in this scenario though, the food is actually expected to be carried away,” he said.
The environmental chief said the key determining factor was whether customers could order their food at the counter.
In the case of a convenience store with hot food stalls that took people’s orders on the spot, the venue had the ability to decide which types of containers and utensils, and should opt to distribute non-plastic ones.
While the policy took effect on Monday, businesses have a six-month grace period to clear out their inventories of prohibited items.
Once the grace period expires, offenders can face a maximum fine of HK$100,000 (US$12,765) and may also be required to pay HK$2,000 under a fixed penalty system.
Tse said authorities had inspected more than 1,700 restaurants and food retail stores in the past week, finding most owners had switched over to eco-friendly alternatives.
Some of those still using plastic tableware planned to introduce alternatives once they cleared out their stocks, he added.
The minister said he believed the public would soon “get used to” the change, observing that more than 60 per cent of customers at inspected venues refused any single-use utensils with their orders.
The second phase of the ban is expected to start next year and will prohibit all uses of throwaway plastics at restaurants, including food containers, six-pack yokes for canned drinks, tablecloths, disposable gloves and plastic-stemmed dental floss.