Hong Kong family close to achieving goal of zero household waste

It began about three years ago. A mound of dirty nappies and used baby wipes was driving Claire Sancelot and her husband mad. Since then, the 37-year-old economist and mother of three young children has been on a mission to reduce waste.

"We now only produce about half a bucket of waste every week, and we're a family of six and a dog," Sancelot said. It's a significant drop from when the family, which includes a live-in helper, was throwing out a big bag of rubbish a day.

Hong Kong produces about 13,400 tonnes of waste a day, or 1.36 kg per person, 40 per cent of which is food waste. The charity Oxfam estimates that a three-person household eats 1.12kg of food a day, and throws out almost as much.

"We realised all this consumption was unsustainable," said Sancelot, who runs an ethical women's clothing line in the city. She decided to avoid consumption altogether, and rarely shops. Instead, she scours online boards for second-hand women's designer clothing, children's clothes and books. She also refuses packaged products, preferring to take her own bags and reusable containers to markets and restaurants.

"You don't have to be rich, you don't have to have a lot of space, or to be a hippy to be zero waste," she said.