Sustaining takeaway: student-led start-up gives Hong Kong an eco-friendly rental service for reusable containers
- Re3 provides meal boxes that people can borrow when ordering takeaway and return later to any participating restaurant
- Green groups say making this a city-wide service is crucial as government prepares to implement a ban on single-use tableware in an effort to tackle plastic waste problem
A customer buys food in a reusable meal box at a restaurant in Science Park. Photo: Yik Yeung-manKelvin Tsui Ka-hei stared at a growing pile of disposable plastic tableware, accumulated over a week as he and his family quarantined after testing positive for Covid-19.
Forced to rely on food delivery during his confinement last year, the Hongkonger saw a crisis and an opportunity.
“[The Centre for Health Protection] told us to accumulate the trash and only discard it once a week to minimise the risk of infecting other people. That day, the trash piled up like a small dump,” recalled the 22-year-old in his fifth year studying quantitative finance at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST).
That night, the student initiated a chat over Zoom with his friends to discuss packaging waste. They discussed how the use of single-use tableware was ingrained in Hongkongers’ habits and that bringing reusable containers for takeaway was uncommon in the city.
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So last August, he and two other university students founded, Re³ – pronounced “re-cube” – a start-up that provides reusable food containers that people can borrow when ordering takeaway. To join, clients just need to register on the group’s online platform, and they can return the containers to any participating eatery for cleaning.
So far, 11 restaurants have joined Re³, and they have about 300 registered users.
“We want to create a Hong Kong-wide reusable tableware system,” Tsui stated. “In the future, we hope to extend our service to other containers including soup bowls, snacks and bags.”
“Our vision is to make takeaway zero waste.”
From disposable to reusable
Re³ offers a sustainable choice for Hongkongers – a critical service as the government prepares to implement a ban on single-use tableware in an effort to tackle the city’s plastic waste problem.
The first phase of the ban, which will take effect by the end of this year, prohibits restaurants from providing smaller disposable plastic tableware such as cutlery and straws. The second phase will ban single-use plastic containers and lids for dine-in and takeaway by 2025.
Hong Kong tosses out more than 2,380 tonnes of plastic waste a day and has a recycling rate of only about 11 per cent, according to government data.
But Tsui stressed that switching to biodegradable disposables was not a cure-all solution.
“Even if we promote the use of eco-friendly disposable tableware, the problem of waste is still here, and it’s not a circular system,” the student said, emphasising the importance of a system where resources can be reused.
It still takes energy to mass-produce biodegradable tableware and build the special facilities required to decompose them.
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Last October, food delivery platform Foodpanda launched a similar reusable container programme. Customers can return used containers to collection machines located across various districts.
Other governments in Asia have taken proactive measures to promote sustainable delivery and takeaway services.
Starting last month, Taiwan’s convenience stores and fast-food chains were required to provide paper cups and a lending service for reusable cups. In Tokyo, Japan, the government is working with the private sector to develop reusable containers for a wide range of products, such as hair care, food, detergents and more.
Going green can be convenient
Tsui recognises the long road ahead for his city: “Our goal is for all eateries in Hong Kong to participate so that you can easily walk into any restaurant to return.”
“We need more partnerships to make this happen,” he noted, adding that his start-up had already prepared 1,000 food containers for its partner restaurants.
Re³ has received about HK$200,000 from various sources, including HKUST’s Dream Builder Programme and the Social Innovation Kick-Start Fund from Baptist University’s Centre for Innovative Service-Learning. Currently, the start-up has no plan to charge a service fee.
Tsui aims to create a “win-win situation” for everyone involved. Users earn points that can be used to redeem rewards, while restaurants attract more customers who are concerned about the environment.
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Last month, the company partnered with the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks (HKSTP) to launch its service at four restaurants. One of them is iTasty, which serves the city’s staple “two entrées with rice”.
Chan*, the restaurant’s manager, shared that the rental programme opened opportunities for catering businesses to be more sustainable: “It doesn’t take us much extra work to use reusables. I believe there’s a chance for it to become a trend ... give it some time to grow.”
“Perhaps, in the future, we will see Cantonese eateries offer reusable containers for entrées and soup separately, and nobody needs to bring a thing,” he added.
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Kevan Cheng, a spokesperson for the Western eatery, Smack, said the shop was already using the Re³ reusable containers to serve its dine-in and takeaway customers: “We consider it part of our marketing or promotional strategies, and [we’re] helping to push forward a change.”
“Hongkongers want to be environmentally friendly, but it is a matter of whether there is a convenient option.”
Alua Khassenova, a researcher at HKSTP, is among the regulars who appreciate the convenience of Re³.
“I would like it to be the trend because I find it very convenient to just grab it, eat, and return it as we don’t have to wash it,” she said. “It’s a really good idea.”
Need for a citywide system
Edwin Lau Che-feng, founder and executive director of The Green Earth, said developing a reusable packaging system was “a step in the right direction”.
“Many foreign countries offer rental services for a deposit, and customers can return them to the merchant or a machine ... I believe this will be the future trend,” he said, adding that different groups should work together to design a citywide system for reusable rental services.
But Simon Wong Ka-wo, chairman of the Chamber of Food and Beverage Industry of Hong Kong, said such a rental service might be challenging for locals to adopt, adding: “Education for the general public is crucial.”
“It is possible if we can form a large network ... Not every group or restaurant can implement the practice of renting out meal boxes. It requires the boxes to be collected, cleaned and returned. A certain operational procedure must be established.”
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Leanne Tam Wing-lam, a campaigner for Greenpeace, stressed that companies should be offering more sustainable options for customers.
“Retailers have a greater responsibility to provide a free option, such as reusable or unpackaged products,” she said.
Last year, Greenpeace collaborated with Hong Kong coffee shops to launch a reusable cup rental service, with over 35 cafes taking part.
“We see that Hongkongers are willing to try, and the market can offer another option to tell consumers that reducing waste does not only depend on bringing their own tableware,” she said, citing a Greenpeace survey last year in which more than half of respondents expressed willingness to rent reusable tableware.
Tam appealed to the government to establish a fund and a timetable for building a reusable tableware system.
“It is not enough to only ban plastic. A system for reusing is necessary, and we need to do both simultaneously,” she emphasised.
*Full name withheld at interviewee’s request.