Enough Plastic Campaign 2021: HK NGO EcoDrive Wants To Reduce Single-Use Plastic Dependency
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Hong Kong-based environmental nonprofit EcoDrive unveiled the Enough Plastic Campaign 2021 on May 30, which is also No Single-Use Plastic Awareness Day, in an effort to raise awareness and educate the public on why and how they can reduce their dependency on single-use plastics, with the campaign running till the end of June.
The Enough Plastic campaign began back in 2019with No Single Use Plastic Awareness Day held for the first time that year. This year’s tagline is “ 少塑從揀” – Choose Wisely to reduce single-use plastic and through various engagement processes, the campaign is raising awareness among the public and is collaborating with corporates to encourage action change.
We want to remind the public that we can all #startsmallstartnow and #choosewisely.
Angela Cheng Matsuzawa, Eco Drive Hong Kong
Over the lpst 18 months, plastic recycling has declined considerably while the increase of single use plastic like disposable masks and PPEs has continuously been on the rise. Research showed that in 2020 alone due to the pandemic-induced lockdowns, people bought more than 100 million disposable plastic items every single week as the number of takeaway food orders soared by 55% compared to before the pandemic.
EcoDriver Angela Cheng Matsuzawa shared more about why the new campaign is so needed: “Our 2019 campaign announced the problem of single use plastic in Hong Kong and woke the public up to this issue. We all have been through a tough 18 months, so for 2021, after our Baby Shark and reusable masks campaign, we want to focus on solutions. We want to remind the public that we can all #startsmallstartnow and #choosewisely.”
Amidst all the many zero waste and plastic-free NGOs and movements, Eco Drive is laser focused on reducing the usage of single-used fossil fuel-based plastics in Hong Kong. In a prior interview with Green Queen Media, EcoDriver Sherry Fung-Wong shared the reason behind their mission” “At EcoDrive we understand there is so much that needs to be done to take better care of our Earth, but we are very focused on the reduction of single-use plastics because we want to put all our efforts not just into raising awareness, but more importantly to drive change. As a group of mothers, we feel that the problem of plastic is growing and our internal drive to help the next generation is incredibly strong since “we do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we simply borrow it from our children.”
To further drive the campaign, EcoDrive is launching a mobile app, dubbed ‘My Impact by EcoDrive’, which will help people measure and track their personal efforts towards reducing plastic with the app featuring competitions and open for sharing with friends as well as corporates.
As a group of mothers, we feel that the problem of plastic is growing and our internal drive to help the next generation is incredibly strong since “we do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we simply borrow it from our children”
Sherry Fung-Wong, Eco Drive Hong Kong
For the campaign, artists Aaron Kwok and Karen Mok have come together to create a catalogue of images that stresses the importance of our everyday choices and how they can have a direct impact on the environment. For instance, one shows Kwok taking his own bag when he steps out for shopping while another depicts Mok bringing her own water bottle on the go.
To promote the high profile, Eco Drive Hong Kong secured billboards on buildings, bus shelters, mini buses, trams, MTR ads as well as outdoor TV and social media.
“This awareness campaign will have social media presence, outdoor and indoor exposure in CBD, malls, bus shelters, trams and minibuses. We have also incorporated interactive photo challenges on social media, drawing competitors from kindergarten to secondary students, and a mobile app that tracks plastic reduction for individuals and organizations. We hope that engagement at different level can help everyone tackle the problem of #singleusedplastic with a positive energy,” added Cheng Matsuzawa.
Several corporations and F&B groups have shown their support to the campaign either financially, in-kind, or going one step ahead and providing plastic reduction policies, or sharing the campaign message with everyone they know.
Read: Just 20 Firms Behind 50% Of All Throwaway Plastic Waste, New Index Report Reveals
One of the initiatives by the Hong Kong government to reduce plastic is the proposed Plastic Beverage Container Producer Responsibility Scheme (PPRS) which is looking to slash the 1.55 billion plastic beverage containers the region threw away in 2019 and encourage domestic recycling.
However, Aaron Kent, founder of reusable cup initiative Please Drink Responsibly, recently shared several reasons why the scheme may be destined to fail from plastic bag charges still at HK$0.50 (approx. US$0.06) to a lack of any kind of target in the proposal to the region’s lowest proposed rebate of HK$0.10 (approx. US$0.01) per container in the world.
Lead image created by Green Queen Media with photos from Eco Drive Hong Kong.
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