Eric Stryson

Opinion | How plastic can be fantastic for Hong Kong’s innovation and technology hub ambitions

True innovation is premised on solving problems and Hong Kong’s effective waste management is blinding it to the big commercial opportunities in plastic

If Hong Kong is to become an international innovation hub, it will need to manage its considerable assets and resources to create new ventures, even developing entire new industries

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Eric Stryson

Published: 8:15am, 28 Feb 2023

Plastic waste is a unique problem for Hong Kong. It is not about the low recycling rate which, at just 14 per cent, is better than the 9 per cent world average but still far below what we need. It is not the finite capacity of landfills, or the plastic particles we consume in our air, water and seafood.

The problem is that Hong Kong’s plastic waste is kept out of sight and out of mind. Waste management is so effective we hardly think about it. This is not to say that used plastic is collected, sorted and recycled optimally. It certainly is not.

Out of sight may be nice in our daily lives. But out of mind is an obstacle to innovation, which is premised on solving problems. A lack of understanding of global problems, and more perniciously, a lack of interest, is a mindset problem. Solving it requires breaking out of the parochialism that has plagued Hong Kong in recent years.

Domestic challenges like affordable housing, mental health and economic diversification warrant attention and resources. But to become a globally relevant innovation and technology hub, a wider perspective is needed, beyond an emphasis on property development for technology-related facilities and cliched slogans about “inno-everything”.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po’s proposal to establish an international green technology finance centre, announced in his 2023-34 budget, can be part of this broader vision, though it should not be too focused on financial engineering schemes like carbon credits.

Practically addressing the scourge of plastic waste offers technology-driven opportunities in each of the four strategic industries outlined by the new Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises. These are: life and health technology; artificial intelligence and data science; financial technology; and advanced manufacturing and new-energy technology.