Environmentalists make the discovery after cleaning up 16 beaches in the two territories. Beijing needs to reduce waste and make drink companies reduce use of plastic.
Hong Kong (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Environmentalists in Hong Kong and Taiwan want China and drink makers to reduce the use of plastic. Their demand comes after a survey revealed that two-thirds of the bottles collected on the beaches of the two territories come from the mainland.
At least 66 per cent of plastic bottles collected along the coasts of Hong Kong and Taiwan had the label written in simplified Chinese characters, which is used in the People's Republic of China.
The Green Earth group, along with eight other NGOs, cleaned up 16 beaches in Hong Kong and Taiwan, collecting 5,200 plastic bottles.
Of these, more than 4400 were recognisable brands and about 66 per cent of the brands were in simplified Chinese. Another 28 per cent were in traditional Chinese, which is used in Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Hahn Chu Hon-keung, director of environmental advocacy at The Green Earth, is quoted by the South China Morning Post as saying that mainland China – which produced most of the bottles and waste that end up in the ocean – should take more aggressive action to reduce plastic waste and make makers cut the use of plastic.