Food delivery companies try to help Hong Kong kick its 25 million-a-day plastic utensil habit
At least three firms now offer an option on their apps that allow customers to skip disposable cutlery in a move a local environmental group calls an important first step in the waste crisis
Food delivery companies in Hong Kong have responded to environmental pressure to cut the plastic waste they generate by offering customers the option to reject disposable cutlery in mobile app orders.
Tens of millions of single-use cutlery pieces are estimated to be thrown away in the city daily, and environmental group Green Earth believes the growth in food ordering apps has contributed to this.
As the sector – worth more than HK$423 million (US$53.9 million) in 2016, according to Euromonitor – continues to develop and mature, more Hongkongers will opt to have meals brought directly to their homes or workplaces.
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Beginning in February, Green Earth began writing to the city’s major food delivery operators to persuade them to introduce a function in apps allowing users to choose not to have plastic cutlery in their orders.
Out of these, at least three – Foodpanda, Honestbee and Deliveroo – agreed to introduce the option in their apps.
“In the face of the current crisis in plastic waste, we’re not at the most ideal situation yet but this is a necessary first step in a long journey,” said Hahn Chu Hon-keung, director of environmental advocacy at Green Earth.