Hong Kong arrivals meet plastic everywhere in quarantine hotels: Remote controls are wrapped in cellophane, pillows are encased in plastic bags, food comes with plastic cutlery.
Hong Kong’s strict quarantine policies - intended to halt COVID-19 at the border and in the community - have been criticised for damaging the economy and mental health. Environmentalists say the policies are also hurting the environment by generating excess waste.
Hong Kong disposes of over 2,300 tonnes of plastic waste a day, and with a recycling rate of just 11%, according to government figures, most of it goes into landfills. Edwin Lau, with local environmental group The Green Earth, said Hong Kong’s approach to COVID reflected its lack of environmental awareness.
Hong Kong, one of the few places that holds to a zero-COVID policy, has quarantined tens of thousands of people this year in facilities for the COVID-positive and near contacts.