Hong Kong to delay first phase of ban on plastic tableware at restaurants, as activists lament official ‘habitual procrastination’

Hong Kong environmental authorities have said they will postpone a ban on the sale and distribution of disposable plastic tableware at restaurants, leading green groups to express disappointment over the government’s “habitual procrastination”.

The Environment and Ecology Bureau had earlier said it aimed to start the ban late this year or at the beginning of the next one “at the earliest”, but a spokeswoman on Thursday revealed the regulation would instead be rolled out in the second quarter of 2024.