'HK Needs To Stop Re-exporting Unrecyclable Plastic'

A green group on Thursday urged the government to step up efforts to prevent imports of plastic waste that can't be recycled, as new international rules restricting the trade take effect on Friday.

Ray Yeung from The Green Earth said Hong Kong has long been a hub for the global plastic trade, importing material from developed countries to be sent to nations in Southeast Asia.

He cited a plastic crime report published by Interpol in August as saying that seven containers of low-quality plastic waste Malaysia received in 2019 were sent from Belgium via Hong Kong.

But under the impending new Basel Convention rules, exports of contaminated plastic will be banned, unless with the importing country agrees to accept them.

Yeung said it's "better late than never" that Hong Kong has revised its waste control policy accordingly, to ensure firms get an official permit before importing or exporting such plastic waste.

But he said the authorities still need to keep a close eye on the inbound containers, especially those from the United States.

That's because the US is responsible for 25% of the plastic waste imports in Hong Kong this year, and has not signed the Basel Convention.

"If we can find any of these containers full of illegal plastic waste, it will send an important signal to those developed countries that Hong Kong will not be used as a hub for re-exporting those plastic waste to Southeast Asian and other countries," he said.

Yeung warned that if the authorities don't act, the waste could end up in the SAR's landfills if the importing countries reject the materials.

The Environmental Protection Department had earlier said it will join hands with Customs officials to continue to screen and inspect containers based on intelligence.