Solid waste is composed of municipal solid waste, overall construction waste and special waste. Among these, municipal solid waste disposal shares the biggest proportion, and it stays at a high level in recent years in Hong Kong. During the pandemic, municipal solid waste disposal in 2020 had decreased by 2% and increased again in 2021.
Municipal solid waste comprises putrescibles, plastic and paper waste etc. The second constituent of municipal solid waste was plastic in 2022, accounting for 21% of the total. In light of it, the government imposed the disposable plastic regulation in 2024 to tackle the problems. According to the government press release on October 20, the usage of disposable plastic items had significantly decreased by over 80% in hotel sector since the implementation of the new legislation.