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| Penalties will be imposed on violators of the plastic ban from tomorrow |
From tomorrow, expect restaurants to totally stop providing customers with disposable plastic utensils, cups, plates and other food containers. Hotels should also no longer provide guests with free plastic bottled water and toiletries.
This is after the lapse of the six-month grace period imposed by the government on the ban on single-use plastics announced on April 22 this year, meaning strict enforcement of the law will begin.
Any retailer found to have violated the regulations
will be issued a written warning on the spot, with the persons in charge
ordered to rectify the situation within 10 working days. If the violation persists,
a fixed penalty of $2,000 will be imposed on the retailer.
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For other businesses such as catering and hotels, the Environmental Protection Department will take action based on complaints, and may issue warnings after an investigation.
Repeat offenders face a maximum fine of $100,000 after prosecution.
In a statement , the EPD advised businesses that still have unused stock of disposable plastics to consider discussing with suppliers about returning the goods, or to contact plastic recyclers for recycling and recovery.
They may call the EPD hotline at 2838 3111 for
assistance.
The EPD said that in the six months since the new
law implemented, there has been a marked decrease in plastic consumption across
the city, apart from a noticeable trend among residents to cut down on waste.
Restaurants have reported that many customers have
begun bringing their own reusable cutlery for takeaway orders, while about 80%
of customers in restaurant chains have opted not to ask for them. In
addition, about 30% of restaurants no longer provide takeaway cutlery.
All these, said the EPD, resulted in as many as 30 million sets of disposable cutlery being saved since the new regulation took effect.
The EPD is urging the public to use their own
cutlery for takeaways to further contribute to cutting down on waste. If using
disposable cutlery cannot be avoided, non-plastic alternatives should be
chosen.
The EPD also noted reports from property management
companies that most people have become accustomed to using fabric umbrella
dryers instead of disposable plastic umbrella bags. Many people have also
become accustomed to using reusable umbrella bags to avoid water drips.
There has also been a significant decrease in the use of disposable plastic products, such as plastic balloon sticks, glow sticks, and party hats during festivals, with businesses co-operating by switching to selling alternative products.
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