Everything you need to know about Hong Kong’s single-use plastic ban

Hong Kong’s ban on single-use plastic items will come into effect on April 22 – a symbolically loaded choice as this is Earth Day.

The first phase of this ban includes stopping eateries from providing or selling nine types of single-use plastic items, including styrofoam products, straws, stirrers, cutlery, and plates. Plastic food containers and their covers, as well as cups and lids, will be restricted to eat-in usage only. However, plastic utensils can still be supplied to customers as long as they come as part of the packaging for pre-packaged food. 

Other common household items that will soon be banned include cotton buds with plastic stems, plastic toothpicks, umbrella bags, balloon handles, glow sticks, and plastic party hats.

But apart from single-use plastic implements on pre-packaged food and drinks, other single-use plastic items that are related to medical procedures, medicines, scientific experiments, and forensics will not be included in the ban.

Upon discovering flouting of the plastic ban, the environmental protection department will issue a warning letter with a $2,000 penalty, though the fine could reach a maximum of $10,000. However, this initial phase of the ban is mostly relevant to businesses, so even if the general public purchases and uses these related plastic products for themselves, or brings them back from abroad, they will not be fined.

The plastic ban will be rolled out in phases, and the next step will be to ban further items including plastic table coverings and plastic-stemmed tooth floss – but this will not be enacted until next year. That said, it’s better to embrace the use of more sustainable products sooner rather than later, so go through your homes and see what plastic items can be replaced by wooden, paper, decomposable, or biodegradable alternatives.