'Majority Back Ban On Disposable Plastic Cutlery'

A green group is calling on the Hong Kong government to unveil plans to phase out single-use plastic tableware, saying a majority of people in the city back a total ban.

WWF-Hong Kong said on Wednesday that in a survey of 3,000 people it carried out, nearly 60 percent favoured a total ban on the sale of disposable plastics.

Seventy-six percent of respondents said they have refused single-use plastics, like straws and boxes, when they bought a takeaway, and more than 60 percent said they have avoided going to restaurants that serve their food with disposable plastics.

Nearly four-fifths of respondents said they support things like restaurants charging extra for providing single-use plastic tableware, or offering discounts to people who bring their own cutlery and containers.

Patrick Yeung, WWF's manager for oceans, said while there is strong support for regulation, there are also concerns about cost, hygiene and adapting.

A representative from San Lung Restaurants, Fanny Ng, said restaurateurs would have huge difficulty in ditching single-use plastics immediately. They should be given sufficient time and the people also should be given time to get adjusted to this, she said.

WWF said it wants the government to come up with a timetable to phase out the use of single-use plastic tableware after 2021 – that's when the government's own consultancy study on this issue is due to be completed.

Suzanne Cheung, head of conservation policy at WWF-Hong Kong, said while legislation may be a few years down the road, the government can start addressing any concerns right now.