Hong Kong govt self-contradictory in plastic ban interpretation

The Environment and Ecology Bureau clarified on Thursday that supermarkets can still place sushi in plastic boxes instead of cardboard ones under the city’s plastic ban. Yet such an interpretation was found contradictory to official documents provided to the retail sector.

Through the Facebook page of the bureau’s mascot Big Waster, the bureau said yesterday that patrons eating sushi within the supermarket premises, where they had bought it from, would be considered as consuming “takeaways”.

That means supermarkets can still use plastic boxes and lids to pack the sushi, it wrote.

However, Environmental Protection Department documents provided to the retail sector during a briefing in February states otherwise.

The document noted that such a scenario where patrons consume cooked food inside the supermarket premises would be considered “dining-in” under the new plastic ban, in which the supermarket will be prohibited from offering plastic containers and lids for dine-in dishes.

The establishment will also be banned from handing out items such as plastic spoons, forks and plastic gloves.

Commenting on the case, lawmaker Doreen Kong Yuk-foon said this is an indication that the government bureaus and departments lack familiarity with the legislation when implementing different policies.

She said the legislation clearly defines requirements for dine-in, takeaway, and food premises, without exemptions for supermarkets.

Kong criticized authorities for misleading citizens with false information, also calling on authorities to provide clear clarification on the issue to avoid chaos.