Clearer statistics the missing link in Hong Kong’s waste reduction

2026-03-14 - 02:05

By Steven Chan, The Green Earth Ten years ago, the government introduced the Food Wise Hong Kong campaign featuring the unforgettable mascot Big Waster – a cartoon character with eyes literally bigger than his stomach. His catchy rap still rings in our ears: “Order only portions you can finish, buy only what you need... Stop the waste! Everything is precious. Let’s be Food Wise!” Schoolchildren chanted it, posters were everywhere, and the message sank in. Now we all know wasting food is wrong. A resident in Sham Shui Po disposes of food waste on May 31, 2024. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Yet here we are in 2026, and Hong Kong still discards a staggering 3,001 tonnes of food waste every single day – roughly 29 per cent of all municipal solid waste. The 2014 Food Waste and Yard Waste Plan’s target of cutting daily disposal to 2,640 tonnes by 2019 was missed long ago. Awareness is high, but real progress is stalled. The reason? Our food waste figures tell us how much we throw away, but almost nothing about what we throw away or why. In January, The Green Earth released a report. We examined the Environmental Protection Department’s (EPD) annual statistics and found several statistical gaps, especially on food waste. There is no breakdown by composition – no data on vegetables versus meat, cooked versus raw, high-salt restaurant leftovers versus low-contaminant fruit peels. There is no distinction between edible food that could have been saved and truly inedible parts. And there is no clear divide between domestic households and commercial sources such as restaurants and retailers. Without this detail, how can policymakers or NGOs design effective interventions? We are flying blind. This data vacuum forces us into an expensive and limited strategy: build more “end-of-pipe” facilities and hope for the best. The government has invested heavily in organic waste treatment: two O·Parks and sewage treatment plants. O·PARK1, Hong Kong’s first organic resources recovery centre in North Lantau, converts food waste into electricity. Photo: GovHK. Yet even at full capacity, these facilities can process at most around 600 tonnes of food waste per day. That is only one-fifth of what Hong Kong generates. What happens to the remaining four-fifths? It still goes to landfills or the incinerator. Technology alone cannot solve the food waste problem. Facilities are necessary, but they treat symptoms, not the disease. The real solution lies at the source: preventing food from becoming waste in the first place. Across Hong Kong, community groups, social enterprises and even some supermarkets are experimenting with promising models, such as food-sharing apps, “ugly produce” sales, near-expiry discount shelves, and education on proper storage. Some advocate reforming “best-before” and “use-by” labels that confuse consumers and lead to premature discarding. Others promote better food storage in restaurants and households. These at-source efforts are creative and cost-effective, but without meaningful statistics, we have no idea how much potential they have. Food waste audits How much household waste could be avoided with clearer labelling? Which sectors waste the most avoidable food? Without reliable figures, it is impossible to scale what works, drop what doesn’t, or build public consensus around the most effective policies. Now that the municipal solid waste charging scheme has been shelved indefinitely, the government’s waste management budget may be under strain. This is precisely the wrong time to keep pouring billions into treatment infrastructure alone. A far smarter investment would be in comprehensive, transparent food waste data. We recommend the EPD conduct regular, detailed food waste audits – at least every two to three years – with clear composition analysis and sector breakdowns. The annual Waste Monitoring Report may become a genuine window for public scrutiny, not just a summary of totals. Publish the data clearly, in open format, and translate the technical findings into plain-language fact sheets. The modest cost of better statistics would be repaid many times over in more targeted, efficient policies. Environmental Protection Department. File photo: inmediahk.net Other places show what is possible when data leads the way. South Korea treats food waste as a national priority. It conducts detailed National Waste Statistics Surveys every five years, breaking down composition (vegetables, meat, fruit, etc.) and sources. Composting facilities use the data to maintain high-quality output, while local governments design hyper-local campaigns. The result? A food waste recycling rate that has stayed above 90 per cent – often reaching 97-98 per cent – for years. Japan goes further by publishing annual figures for edible food loss and waste separately from inedible parts. In 2023, it reported 4.64 million tonnes of avoidable edible waste, down from previous years. These transparent numbers have directly informed reforms to expiry labelling and consumer campaigns, helping the country make steady progress toward its 2030 targets – reducing 60 per cent of business food waste from the 2000 level. Hong Kong does not need to copy these models wholesale, but we can certainly learn from them. With clearer statistics, our community initiatives can move from scattered experiments to coordinated, measurable success. Businesses can target the right waste streams. The government can allocate resources where they deliver the biggest impact. And all of us can see that our daily choices really do make a difference. The figures are there – or at least they could be. If the government already possesses more detailed data, public dissemination would be warmly welcomed. Hong Kong people will appreciate the transparency and work together to reduce waste. If such comprehensive statistics are still missing, the EPD should consider filling in the blanks through regular, thorough audits. Only then can we move beyond slogans and truly win the war on waste. Steven Chan is the assistant environmental affairs manager at The Green Earth, a Hong Kong-based environnmental charity. HKFP is an impartial platform & does not necessarily share the views of opinion writers or advertisers. HKFP presents a diversity of views & regularly invites figures across the political spectrum to write for us. Press freedom is guaranteed under the Basic Law, security law, Bill of Rights and Chinese constitution. 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