Under the Regulation Scheme, local sale and provision of specified 9 types of disposable plastic tableware by catering premises to customers for dine-in and takeaway services will be prohibited by phase. Owing to the similar nature with dine-in services, catering services (involving the provision of food and beverage and catering staff) for private events are also suggested to be regulated in the same manner as dine-in services. For details, please click to access relevant page .

Under the Regulation Scheme, “plastic” refers to a material consisting of a polymer, to which an additive or any other substance may have been added, except for the polymer that is natural polymer that has not been chemically modified (e.g. plant fibre) or that is used merely as an additive (e.g. adhesive, ink, binder, etc) and does not function as a major structural component. For details, please click to access relevant page.

The Regulation Scheme aims at minimizing the impacts of plastic pollution on the marine environment and human health. Apart from the common plastics (e.g. EPS, PET, PP, etc), the Regulation Scheme will also cover all other kinds of plastics, including oxo-degradable plastics, biodegradable plastics (e.g. polylactic acid [PLA], corn starch), and laminated linings made of such plastic materials, etc. It is because these plastics mostly can only accelerate their fragmentation into microplastic flakes or be biodegraded under specific conditions, such as exposure to ultraviolet radiation or heat, and those required conditions are often absent in the natural marine environment.

Under the Regulation Scheme, “disposable” product means a product not designed to be used for its designed purpose more than once, or on more than one occasion, before being disposed of.

The first phase of the regulation is planned to be implemented six months after the passage of the relevant Amendment Bill (on 22 April 2024 at the earliest).

As a matter of principle, we should reduce waste at source, use reusable tableware as far as possible and avoid using any disposable tableware.

If the use of disposable tableware is unavoidable, more environmentally friendly tableware made of non-plastic materials should be used. At present, the more common non-plastic disposable tableware alternatives available in the market are mainly made of paper, bamboo, soft wood, plant fibre materials (e.g. wood pulp, straw pulp, bagasse), etc.

You may visit the “List of Tableware Products” of this Platform for the enrolled non-plastic disposable tableware products for reference.

Green Tableware Platform aims to encourage the early adoption by the trade of more environmentally friendly disposable tableware that is made of non-plastic materials (such as paper or plant fibre) in lieu of disposable plastic ones, facilitate them to get a better understanding of alternatives that can meet the requirements of the regulation, and provide reference to the food and beverage industry, tableware suppliers and the public.

Any tableware suppliers in Hong Kong or other regions may enrol their non-plastic disposable tableware in Green Tableware Platform. The enrolment is free of charge.

Since reusable tableware would generally be easier for the public to distinguish, at present only non-plastic disposable alternatives for those regulated tableware would be open for enrolment under Green Tableware Platform.

Applicants only need to submit their applications online in Green Tableware Platform, upload relevant supporting documents, and after the online applications, submit the relevant product samples to the Secretariat in order to complete the application process. For details, please click to access relevant page .

Generally, applicants need to submit material testing reports or certificates issued by local or international (e.g. European Union) accredited laboratories, inspection bodies or certification bodies in order to demonstrate the compliance of the concerned product with the relevant “non-plastic” requirements. For details, please click to access relevant page .

Under normal circumstances, assessment will be completed about 3 to 4 weeks if the information submitted is complete.

For any enquiries about Green Tableware Platform, please contact the Secretariat at 2202 9111 or email hkqaa@hkqaa.org.