Hong Kong's First Drink Carton Recycling Campaign
Hong Kong throws away 43,000 tonnes of drink cartons each year. There are two types of drink carton: one comprises paper, plastic and aluminium; the other comprises paper and plastic only. All the materials are recyclable and drink cartons are recycled in many places. For example, Japan, Taiwan and mainland China have recycling rates of 45%, 30% and 10%, respectively. Yet, none are recycled in Hong Kong; all are dumped in landfills. This is a waste of useful resources, and accelerates exhaustion of landfill space, intensifying the waste problem.
Hong Kong has yet to implement any drink carton recycling campaigns due to lack of technology, facilities and economic incentive. Therefore, Green Power is holding Hong Kong's first large-scale trial campaign on drink carton recycling, to let the public know that cartons are recyclable and prove it’s feasible in Hong Kong.
Green Power urges the government to implement a comprehensive Producer Responsibility Scheme covering all beverage containers and food packaging. Meanwhile, recycling becomes more important as “Municipal Solid Waste Charging” will soon be implemented. Producers should take up the responsibility, and recycle their products at once, despite the absence of legislation. Otherwise, the costs of waste handling will be further passed on to citizens.
Jan 2016 :
Recycling trial in schools (10 primary schools)
Oct 2016 :
Second phase of recycling in schools (10 primary schools)
Oct 2016 :
Recycling trial in hospitality industry (26 restaurants in 5 hotels)
Jul 2017 :
Petition to urge producers to recycle drink cartons
Jul 2017 :
Recycling in restaurants and hotels at Hong Kong Disneyland
Dec 2017 :
Jungle All the Way @PMQ
15,000 drink cartons
Folded into 36 Sparkling Christmas Trees
15,000 drink cartons
Folded into 36 Sparkling Christmas Trees
Drink Carton Recycling Q&As for Dummies
Media Coverage
- Drink Cartons Recycling - When will the Day Come? (City Magazine issue 872)
- [Animation] 3.7 Billion Drink Cartons Discarded in Hong Kong Reaching the Moon if Stacked Up (Apple Daily 18 Dec 2017)
- [Shiny] Drink Cartons Turn into Christmas Trees Thanks to these Primary School Students (Apple Daily 18 Dec 2017)
- Good Place to Go: Celebrating a Green Festival, Christmas Trees Built out of 10 Thousand Drink Cartons (Ming Pao 5 Dec 2017)
- 【PMQ x 4 Primary Schools】Christmas Creation! Growing Christmas Trees out of Trash (Parenting Headline 29 Nov 2017)
- Open letter to drink and food carton producers in Hong Kong
Urging response to citizens’ call to take environmental responsibility and recycle cartons (Green Power Press Release 28 Nov 2017) (Chinese version only) - Fold to Make Eco-friendly Christmas Tree Learn about Drink Carton Recycling (Sky Post 20 Nov 2017)
- 【Green Christmas】Primary School Kids Enjoy Upcycling Make Christmas Tree Jungle out of ‘Waste’ (HK01 16 Nov 2017)
- 【PMQ Christmas Installation】Something more than ‘Blue for Paper, Yellow for Aluminum Cans and Brown for Plastic Bottles’: the Beautiful Realization of Drink Carton Recycling in Hong Kong (BK Milk 14 Nov 2017)
- Waste Paper Crisis (TVB Jade - News Magazine 4 Nov 2017)
- First Drink Carton Recycling Campaign in Hong Kong (RTHK2 – Cultural Express 3 Sep 2017)
- Hong Kong's First Drink Carton Recycling Campaign (RTHK3 – 123 Show 4 Aug 2017)
- Green Power Suggests Producers Take Initiative to Recycle Drink Carton (Sing Pao Daily News 2 Aug 2017)
- Green Power Estimated $3.9 Waste Charging per Month for Every Household (Hong Kong Economic Journal 1 Aug 2017)
- Green Power Started Petition to Urge Local Producers to Recycle Drink Cartons (Metro Radio 1 Aug 2017)
- Green Power Estimated $3.9 Waste Charging per Month for Every Household (rthk.hk – Chinese News 1 Aug 2017)
- Green Group Suggests Drink Carton Recycling (RTHK1 1 Aug 2017)
- Over 40,000 Tonnes Drink Cartons disposed annually in Hong Kong Green Group urges Producers to Recycle (Apple Daily 31 Jul 2017)
- Drink Cartons Have High Recycling Value Can Become Wipes or Building Materials (Apple Daily 31 Jul 2017)
- No Way Out for Drink Cartons Recycling A Household Pays $4 per Month upon Waste Charging (TOPick 31 Jul 2017)
- Green Group is Running Petition to Urge Producers to Recycle Drink Cartons (Ming Pao 31 Jul 2017)
- 3.7 Billion Drink Cartons Disposed Each Year in Hong Kong with No Recycling (HK01 31 Jul 2017)
- No Drink Carton Recycling in Hong Kong due to High Cost (Sky Post 31 Jul 2017)
- Green Group Proposes Producer Responsibility for Drink Cartons (Headline Daily 31 Jul 2017)
- Green Group Proposes Producer Responsibility for Drink Carton (Sing Tao Daily 31 Jul 2017)
- Drink Cartons Disposed Every Day could Cover 17 Hong Kong Stadiums (Oriental Daily 31 Jul 2017)
- Hong Kong will End up in Waste without Drink Carton Recycling (Oriental Daily – Kung Fu Tea 31 Jul 2017)
- Green Group Proposes Producer Responsibility for Drink Cartons (RTHK1 31 Jul 2017)
- Recycling Drinks Cartons won’t Cost Much: Green Group(RTHK3 – Newswrap 31 Jul 2017)
- Cartoned Drink Manufacturers Dodge Environmental Responsibility
Citizens Pay for the Cost (Green Power Press Release 31 Jul 2017) (Chinese version only) - Drink Carton can actually be Recycled, University Students Started Pledging, Green Group: Producers are Responsible (HK01 8 Apr 2017)
- Way Out For Drink Cartons (U Magazine 14 Oct 2016)
- Drink Carton and Producer Responsibility (Sing Tai Daily - Green Forum 26 Sep 2016)
- 3.7 Billion Drink Cartons Disposed Each Year, 4 Hotels Join Recycling (Ming Pao 21 Sep 2016)
- Green Group Expands Drink Carton Recycling to Hotels (Oriental Daily 21 Sep 2016)
- 4 Hotels Join Hands Help Build Houses for Thai Underprivileged (Hong Kong Economic Times 21 Sep 2016)
- Drink Cartons Collected by Hotels Turn into Roof Materials (Sky Post 21 Sep 2016)
- 4 Hotels 10 Primary Schools Participate in Drink Carton Recycling Campaign (Sing Pao 21 Sep 2016)
- Drink Cartons Recycling by Hotels Help the Poor in Thailand （Hong Kong Economic Journal 21 Sep 2016）
- Primary Schools, Restaurants, Hotels Recycle Together, Turn Drink Carton into "Green Roof" (HK01 20 Sep 2016)
- 3.7 Billion Drink Cartons Disposed, Each Year, Green Group Recycling Trial in Hotels (on.cc 20 Sep 2016)
- How to Help the Underprivileged in Thailand by Recycling Drink Cartons in Hotels? (TOPick 20 Sep 2016)
- Hotel Sector Begins to Recycle Drink Cartons
Falling Paper Prices Lead to Difficulty in Recycling (Green Power Press Release 20 Sep 2016) (Chinese version only) - Who should recycle the drink cartons? (Hong Kong Economic Times - Something Green to Say 27 Jun 2016)
- Stop Wasting - Turn Drink Cartons into Fuels (Apple Daily 22 June 2016)
- Can Drink Cartons be Recycled? (DBC Channel 2 22 Jun 2016)
- Hong Kong People Throw Away 116 Drink Cartons Every Second (Oriental Daily 20 Jun 2016)
- Green Group Urges Producers Recycle Drink Cartons (am730 20 Jun 2016)
- Drink Cartons Threw Away in a Day in Hong Kong can Fill 17 Hong Kong Stadiums (Wen Wei Po 20 Jun 2016)
- Filling 17 Hong Kong Stadiums, Hong Kong People Throw Away 1.5 Drink Carton Per Day (Sky Post 20 Jun 2016)
- Filling 17 Hong Kong Stadiums in a Day, Enormous Number of Drink Cartons Threw in Hong Kong (Headline Daily 20 Jun 2016)
- Throwing Away 3.7 Billion Drink Cartons, Green Group Urges Recycling (Ming Pao 20 Jun 2016)
- Hong Kong People Throw Away Drink Carton Every Day, Filling 17 Hong Kong Stadiums (Sing Tao Daily 20 Jun 2016)
- What a waste: better uses for old cartons (The Standard 20 Jun 2016)
- Disposed Drink Cartons in a Day can Fill 17 Hong Kong Stadiums (Hong Kong Economic Times 20 Jun 2016)
- Throwing Away 3.7 Billion Drink Cartons a Year, Green Group Urges Recycling (Hong Kong Economic Journal 20 Jun 2016)
- Green Group Estimates 43,000 Dumped Drink Cartons Per Year (Hong Kong Commercial Daily 20 Jun 2016)
- 43,000 Tones of Drink Cartons Waste Every year, Green Group Urge Producer Responsibility Scheme (Ta Kung Pao 19 Jun 2016)
- Green Group Hopes Drink Producers Recycle Cartons (iCable Instant News 19 Jun 2016)
- Green Group Urge Producer Responsibility Scheme, Recycle Drink Cartons (RTHK - News Roundup 19 Jun 2016)
- Organization Claims Hong Kong Throw Away Over 40,000 Tonnes Drink Cartons, Urges Recycling (rthk.hk - Chinese News 19 Jun 2016)
- Drink Companies Urged to Recycle Cartons (rthk.hk - English News 19 Jun 2016)
- Green Group said Hong Kong Throw Away Over 40,000 Tonnes Drink Cartons Every Year (DBC 19 Jun 2016)
- 16,000 Drink Cartons Collected in 10 Primary Schools and Sent Japan to Generate Energy, Local Producers Refuse to Recycle (HK01 19 Jun 2016)
- Hong Kong People Throw Away 1.5 Drink Carton Per Day, Vitasoy Will Consider Recycling (TOPick 19 Jun 2016)
- Throwing Away 43,000 Drink Cartons, Filling 17 Hong Kong Stadiums, Green Group Urges Recycle (Ming Pao News Web 19 Jun 2016)
- Hong Kong People Throw Away 116 Drink Carton Every Second, Green Group Urges Regulation (on.cc 19 Jun 2016)
- Green Group Hopes Producers Recycle Drink Cartons (Hong Kong Economic Journal 19 Jun 2016)
- Producers Should Take Up Their Responsibility Immediately to Recycle Drink Cartons (Green Power Press Release 19 Jun 2016) (Chinese version only)
- Drink Cartons (Hong Kong Economic Times - Something Green to Say 28 May 2016)
- Green Heroes Save the Drink Cartons (Cable TV Making a Difference 26 May 2016)
- Don't Throw it Away! Drink Carton can be Recycled! (Weekend Weekly issue 872)
- Resourceful Drink Cartons - Recycle as Efficient Green Fuel (am730 27 Apr 2016)
- Recycling of Drink Cartons Non-existent - Green Group Subsidises Recycling in Japan (Ming Pao 27 Apr 2016)
- Green Frontline: Gather Drink Cartons to Save the Earth (Oriental Daily 27 Apr 2016)
- Green Frontline: Rubbish Regenerate as Fuel (Oriental Daily 27 Apr 2016)
- Be Smart! Who said Drink Carton Cannot be Recycled? (OnTV 27 Apr 2016)
