More than half of candy sold in Hong Kong packaged in unspecified plastic, survey finds

More than half of the candy sold in Hong Kong is packaged in unspecified types of plastic, a survey has found, despite a global pledge by leading producers to switch to more environmentally friendly materials by 2025.

Local environment group The Green Earth revealed the finding on Wednesday after conducting a survey of 400 types of pre-packaged candy sold in supermarkets in April and May.

It urged companies to switch to materials such as paper to wrap products and provide consumers with the option to buy loose candies.

"We are very disappointed in the international companies that have made international pledges to reduce plastic, but continue to ignore the fact that Hong Kong lacks the infrastructure to widely recycle such packaging," said Edmond Lau Shiu-hong, Green Earth's senior advocacy officer.

"Companies should not selectively carry out their plastic reduction efforts in certain markets. That is the only way they can achieve good public relations and really cut down their plastic."

Most of Hong Kong's waste ends up in landfills. Photo: SCMP alt=Most of Hong Kong's waste ends up in landfills. Photo: SCMP

Hong Kong's recycling rate has been decreasing, with only 30 per cent of the city's 4.17 million tonnes of waste being recycled in 2018, according to Environmental Protection Department data. While plastics comprised 21 per cent of the total waste, they only made up 4 per cent of total recycled materials.

Green Earth said three companies, the Ferrero Group, Mars Incorporated and Nestle " which together have about 40 per cent of the market share in Hong Kong " had all signed on to the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment, a joint initiative between the UN's environment programme and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a sustainability group, to create a "circular economy" for plastics, where the material never becomes waste.

Under the pledge, all three companies vowed to switch to 100 per cent reusable, recyclable or biodegradable packaging by 2025. Ferrero and Mars also said they would have clear recycling labels on their packaging, while Nestle said it would roll out paper packaging to replace plastic wraps.

However, Lau questioned the ability of the companies to reach their goal in Hong Kong.

"Even though there already exists paper packaging for some of their products, many candies still use plastic or plastic and aluminium composite packaging, which is difficult and expensive to recycle," Lau said.

The group had contacted the companies, but only Nestle said it had been tracking the amount of waste plastic it produced.

In a reply to the South China Morning Post, Nestle Hong Kong said it fully supported sustainability and was dedicated to exploring and developing packaging solutions that are reliable, safe and environmentally friendly.

It also reiterated its 2025 pledge, adding: "Our vision is that none of our packaging, including plastics, ends up in landfill, in oceans, lakes and rivers."

The Post also contacted the other two companies for comment.

Meanwhile, Green Earth executive director Edwin Lau Che-feng urged the government to expedite the introduction of producer responsibility legislation " a producer-pays scheme which would see companies taking responsibility for the recycling and processing of waste from their products " as well as a municipal waste charging bill which has been delayed for more than 10 years.

The city only has producer responsibility schemes for plastic bags and waste electronics, while a bill for plastic bottles is yet to be passed. The proposed waste charging scheme would see the average household pay between HK$33 and HK$51 (US$4.26 and US$6.51) per month on average to dispose of their rubbish.

"Only with economic incentive will residents and companies be willing to put in the effort to recycle," he said.

The city would also have to work on building a more mature recycling system, which could include a full "chain of reporting" on the use of plastics at every stage of the production or import process, Lau said. "The highest standard should of course be to completely avoid producing more plastic and reduce at the source."

This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

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