World Environment Day: How much plastic did you use today?

Hosted by Korea with a theme of #BeatPlasticPollution, the fight against plastic waste continues!

But plastic waste affects more than just landfills, microplastics are all around us. Through weathering and degradation, larger plastic items break down into minuscule particles. These microplastics can become airborne and make air pollution worse.

The production and disposal of plastic also severely affects the environment as they are refined from fossil fuels, with researchers finding 3% of greenhouse gas emissions are caused by plastic production. 

Plastics are Hong Kong’s third largest category of municipal solid waste, behind food and paper. According to Environment Protection Bureau statistics from 2023, almost one-fifth of waste that year were waste plastics. 

The city ban on single use plastics, the《Product Eco-responsibility (Amendment) Bill 2023》, which came into effect 22 April 2024, saves 60 million sets of plastic cutlery per year according to the Environment and Ecology Bureau in an April estimate. However, the Hong Kong government’s first phase plastic ban ended in October 2024 and there is no firm plan for the second phase.

This is a crisis that can’t be fixed by recycling alone, reduction of plastic use is a key part of ending plastic pollution and we should all do our part to save the environment and improve air quality for both ourselves and others!