CAUSE

Taking Out The Trash

Being Neighbourly x Dana Winograd, Co-founder & ED, Plastic Free Seas

Author/ Being Neighbourly
28 February 2025

There can be a tendency to feel disappointed or frustrated with regards to the problem of plastic pollution. But I do feel that the situation is improving across Hong Kong,” says Dana Winograd, Co-founder of Plastic Free Seas (PFS).

According to her, there has been an acknowledgement of the problem by the government, and we have seen changes implemented to reduce the amount of single-use plastic: be it, cutlery or straws; and plates have been banned, along with polystyrene food and beverage containers. Many other unnecessary plastic items have also been banned, such as: disposable plastic food and beverage containers for dine-in, glow sticks, umbrella bags, plastic cu-tips, and more. She adds that the waste created in hotels has also been addressed. “Hotels are no longer allowed to give away free plastic water bottles in the rooms, or small bottles of body care products, plastic toothbrushes, combs…,” she says.

Of the other improvements, Winograd cites The Green@Community recycling collection network, which is being expanded to make it easier for more people to access a recycling system they can trust.

“We see reusable coffee cup and food container programmes popping up across Hong Kong in coffee shops and restaurants, and a greater awareness of the problem by the public.” In addition, she points to the record number of events that PFS held last year: 248 school talks and workshops reaching over 21,000 students in Cantonese and English, as a ‘Look, see?’ to an improving situation.

“We find community outreach to be very valuable and our school programming has been and always will be the cornerstone of our work. Whether it is a club, a church group, a sports team, a company or a wider variety of people that we might meet at a booth in a park for example, speaking face-to-face with people, showing them examples of what we are talking about, and sharing personal experiences seems to be very impactful. Over the years, we have evolved to reach a greater percentage of local schools with our full-time Cantonese-speaking educator.

PFS became a registered charity in 2013, although Winograd and Tracey Read had met years earlier over their involvement in community green group DB Green, formed to address environmental issues in Discovery Bay. In the course of their activities, they had learned about the Great Pacific Garbage patch, about which Read had collected data, when she joined a research expedition from Japan to Hawaii. When she returned, they founded Plastic Free Seas.

According to Winograd, community outreach and volunteers have been essential to their operation and the PFS website is “a resource”, for an audience they have segmented into Individuals, Educators and Companies, for ease of finding the information each needs.

“There is an opportunity for everyone to change their behaviour in order to reduce their use of single-use by switching to reusables like reusable bottles, cutlery, bags, food containers, and so on, but there may be specific actions that we recommend for students in schools as opposed to people in their office,” says Winograd, explaining their decision to create ‘personas’ on their website.

“Students may have a requirement to undertake community service or to do a project to help solve a problem, as part of their curriculum, CAS for the IB Diploma, for example. We have recommendations for them to do within their school that we might not be appropriate for a person in an office”.

Meanwhile, she adds that, “Our talks and beach cleanup programmes differ depending on whether you are looking for an event for your staff, or you are a teacher wanting to complement the in-class learning experience for your students, or you are an individual who wants to join our monthly events on your own or with your family.”

Says Winograd, “There is too much single-use packaging used in all countries around the world, and Hong Kong, like most other Asian countries, has a penchant for take-away/delivery food which adds to the waste. Hopefully, the government will move forwards with Stage 2 of their single-use plastic legislation, which will see single-use plastic food containers banned for take-away and delivery. That will help the plastic problem, but unless it is coupled with a push for reusable food packaging programmes, it only moves the waste from plastic to paper… Legislation is key.”

According to her, some of the changes that are being legislated in other countries include: minimum recycled plastic content in plastic packaging, requiring certain items to be compostable, optimised packaging design, better labelling, and, most importantly, reuse and refill targets.

But she adds that although we may not see the same level of rubbish washing up on beaches in North America and Europe, and so on, it doesn’t mean that the waste problem isn’t there. “These countries notoriously outsource their waste problem, sending low-value, recyclable waste to other countries, or not even collecting some types of plastic that we currently collect for recycling in Hong Kong.”

“Approximately 175 countries voted to adopt a global plastics treaty to address the problem of plastic, and have been in discussion since 2022,” she says, adding that although they have not finalised an agreement, discussions are continuing to move towards a solution, which will hopefully see a cap on the amount of plastic created globally, the phasing out of unnecessary plastic and harmful chemicals used in plastic, and more funding to facilitate the transition away from single-use plastic and the handling of plastic at its end of life, amongst other things.

“As we are a very small team, we welcome everyone who would like to make a difference to get in touch to volunteer.”

What is the best thing about the work that you do?

“We inspire people to take action, giving them the knowledge and tools they need to be a part of the solution,” says Dana Winograd, Co-founder and Executive Director of Plastic Free Seas.

“Too often people, especially young people, don’t feel like they can make a difference when it comes to these types of huge global problems. Our education and action programmes help people learn what they can do, and understand that their actions do make a difference,” she shares.

“Knowing that we are changing people’s behaviour and that these changes have a positive impact on our environment is very rewarding,” she adds.

Plastic Free Seas
21/F Chun Wo Commercial Bldg., 23-29 Wing Wo Street, Central.