The "Product Eco-responsibility (Amendment) Bill 2023" regarding the regulation of disposable plastic tableware and other plastic products was passed by the Legislative Council on October 18, 2023, and will come into effect on April 22, 2024. For details on the regulations, please visit the Environmental Protection Department's online platform - "Cut the Plastics".

For the retail and service industries, the following disposable plastic products will be prohibited from sale and distribution for free starting from April 22, 2024:

1.          All expanded polystyrene (EPS) tableware (including plates, food containers and cups)
2.          Plastic straws
3.          Plastic stirrers
4.          Plastic forks, knifes, spoons,
5.          Plastic plates
6.          Plastic stemmed cotton buds
7.          Plastic toothpicks
8.          Ballon sticks
9.          Inflatable cheer sticks
10.          Glow sticks
11.          Party hats
12.          Umbrella bags
13.          Plastic food sticks
14.          Oxo-degradable plastic products (regardless of disposability)
15.          Non-medical use transparent gloves and plastic packaged tissue paper for promotional use can continue to be sold, but not to
       be freely distributed.

Besides, please be aware of the following:

•           Food containers and lids of food containers including plastic cups, plastic cup lids, plastic bowls and plastic boxes are not included in the current phase of regulation, they can still be sold.
•           Plastic stemmed cotton buds and plastic toothpicks will be banned from sale and free distribution starting from April 22, 2024.
•           Disposable floss picks with plastic handles are not included in the current phase of regulation and can still to be sold.
•           Interdental brushes are not subject to regulation under the new legislation and can continue to be sold.
•           The sale or provision of regulated disposable plastic products for medical reasons (for example, disposable plastic spoons for taking liquid medicine) may be exempted.
•           Disposable plastic tableware that is pre-packaged with products (for example, plastic spoons inside formula cans) is also exempted.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact the FHKI Secretariat, or you can also reach out to Dr. Chan Ho Sun, Senior Environmental Protection Officer at the Environmental Protection Department (Tel: 2872 1828).