Food Wise Hong Kong Campaign

1. Promote awareness of the community on the food waste management problems in Hong Kong in support of government policies to achieve the visions in the Waste Blueprint for Hong Kong 2035 and the target of attaining carbon neutrality before 2050
2. Encourage and facilitate the separation and collection of the unavoidable food waste to enhance recycling of resources and help achieve carbon neutrality target
3. Coordinate efforts within the Government and public institutions to lead by example in food waste reduction
4. Instill behavioural changes in the community at individual and household levels that will help reduce food waste generation
5. Draw up and promote good practices on food waste reduction of commercial and industrial establishments
6. Encourage leadership in the commercial, industrial and community sectors to take action and share best practices
7. Facilitate food donation between the establishments with surplus food with charitable organizations in the community
8. Encourage avoidance of the use of disposable plastic tableware and reduction in food packaging

Introduction

The Food Wise Charter is to :
✓Encourage Hong Kong businesses/organizations in adopting measures to reduce food waste generation within their establishments or through the services and products they provide; and
✓recognize the waste reduction and recycling efforts of those organizations.

Charter’s Statement
 

We understand and agree that
✓The waste problem in Hong Kong is becoming increasingly severe. We discarded about 1.51 kg of municipal solid waste per person per day. Food waste is the largest source of Hong Kong’s municipal solid waste. In 2022, about 3,300 tonnes of food waste were disposed of at landfills every day, accounting for about 30% of municipal solid waste.
✓ Wasting food not only increases operational costs, but also wastes all the land, water resources, fertilizer and labour needed to grow food.
✓Disposal of food waste in landfills not only occupies valuable land resources, it also emits greenhouse gases during the decomposition process. In fact, food waste is a reusable organic material that can be converted into useful resources through recycling.
✓To realise the vision of sustainable development, we need to change the way we currently produce and consume our natural resources, reduce food waste at source, and recycle unavoidable food waste for conversion into useful resources for the benefit of our community.
 

To contribute to reducing food waste from the community, we are committed to
✓Promoting best practices and behavioral changes to reduce food waste generation.
✓Drawing up plans within our organizations to make relevant stakeholders aware of and accept best practices in food waste reduction and recycling.
✓Implementing plans with measurable targets to reduce food waste generation in our organisations and business settings.
✓Encouraging and supporting organisational management to conduct in-house waste audits and to improve waste management performance based on the results and recommendations of the audits.
✓Supporting the “Food Wise Hong Kong Campaign” and similar initiatives to encourage behavioral and cultural changes that engender respect for and cherishing of our food and natural resources.
✓Advocating for and adopting recipes that make use of food trimmings.
✓Supporting food donation activities.
✓Promoting food waste recycling.
 

Requirement of Scheme
Applicants should submit a valid Business Registration Certificate relating to its business and Food Licence/ Permit (issued by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department) or Club (Safety or Premises) Ordinance Certificate of Compliance (issued by the Home Affairs Department).

The Food Wise Eateries Scheme (the Scheme) has the following three classes to recognise the different levels of efforts and commitment of the participating eateries in being “Food Wise” and the reduction of waste:

1. Silver Class
2. Gold Class
3. Diamond Class

Please refer to the Application Guideline for details on the assessment criteria for each class.

Requirements for Silver Class
Applicants should fulfill the following requirements to achieve the Silver Class of the Scheme:

1. Convey food wise message to customers using promotional materials (applicants can download Food Wise promotional materials provided by the Environmental Protection Department)
2. Promote the message for consuming all ordered foods or taking away leftovers
3. Adopt AT LEAST ONE of the following food portioning option / food waste reduction measures:
   
   • i. Provide options of less rice (other main foods are also applicable, e.g. noodles / congee / spaghetti / potato & vegetable / salad / French fries)
   • ii. Provide options on the number of courses in set menus (e.g. starter / soup / desserts are optional, 6 main courses or less for banquet, fewer number of courses for set meals)
   • iii. Provide portion size options for a variety of food (e.g. steak, fish, chicken)
   • iv. Provide portion size options for pizza / dish / meal (e.g. regular size, large size or small size)
   • v. Provide portion size options for dim sum / sushi and relevant dishes (e.g. choices for different number of pieces per dish)
   • vi. Serve hors d’oeuvre / side dishes / snacks only upon request by customers or provide options of no hors d’oeuvre / side dishes / snacks
   • vii. Pre-portion or set smaller portion for food in buffets
   • viii. Provide incentives to encourage customers to consume all ordered food
   • ix. Provide on-site meal portioning instead of pre-packed meal box

Requirements for Gold Class
Applicants should fulfill the following requirements to achieve the Gold Class of the Scheme:

1. Meet the requirements for Silver Class

2. Adopt THREE additional food waste reduction measures with each measure coming from different categories (A to C) below:
   
   A. Management and Commitment

   1. Sign Food Wise Charter
   2. Formulate a Company Food Management Policy with the aim to reduce food waste
   3. Monitor food waste generation and identify food waste reduction measures

   
   B. Training and Promotion

   1. Provide training on food-wise culture and food waste reduction to staff
   2. Assign at least ONE staff as Food Wise Manager / coordinator / ambassador to deliver corresponding training to staff and ensure they will convey the food wise message to customers

   
   C. Food Processing

   1. Adopt FIFO (first-in-first-out) system for stored food
   2. Store food in controlled storage environment, conduct regular inspections and maintain proper functioning of storage facilities to prevent food spoilage
   3. Adopt recipes that make good use of surplus food and food trimmings

Requirements for Diamond Class
Applicants should fulfill the following requirements to achieve the Diamond Class of the Scheme:

1. Meet the requirements for Gold Class
2. Adopt AT LEAST ONE additional measure below:
   
   • i. Donate surplus edible food to food recycling banks or non-profit making organisation
   • ii. Participate in food waste recycling

Think before you buy

Have a detailed shopping list to avoid over-purchase
 

1. Take stock of your food at home and make a shopping list.
2. Stick to your buying plan, instead of being a victim of sales pitches.
3. Buy individually packed food if you have a small family and share bulk purchases with friends and neighbours.
4. Properly manage, and check the food in your fridge and cupboard (e.g, quantity and expiry dates) to avoid buying duplicates, over purchasing and food from expiring.

Think before you cook

Ask yourself how much you can eat before you cook.
 

1. Before cooking, ask yourself and others how much they want to eat.
2. Consider light-portioned food if there are only a a few people for the meal.
3. Many light-portioned recipes are available on the internet. Try those recipes to save money and waste less.

Think before you order

Order food according to your needs, if you don’t want leftovers.
 

1. Think how much you can eat before you order. Choose suitable portions to avoid over-ordering.
2. Ask for "Less rice" if necessary.
3. If the portion is too large, share the dish with your friends. This can help avoid wasting food!
4. When you are eating out, always take leftovers home. You can have a free lunch next day. Save money and waste less food!

Food Waste Reuse Tips – Cleaning and Planting
 

1. Rice-rinsed water can be used for planting and cleaning
2. Coffee grounds can be used for removing odor, cleaning and preventing insects
3. Chemical detergents can be replaced by homemade eco-detergents with tea bags and various fruit peels
4. Banana peels can be used as oil cleaner and keep the shoes shine
5. Grinded egg shells can be used as fertilizers for planting
6. Recycled oil can be used to make eco-soap

Food Waste Reuse Tips – Dinning
 

1. Make use of the unavoidable food waste such as fish bones and shrimp heads to cook soup or other dishes
2. Use excessive cooked rice to make fried rice or cook with soup to make a delicious dish
3. Rip the cooked meat into hair-like pieces to make shredded pork and freak shark fin soup
4. Overripe bananas can be stored at freezer and mixed with milk to make banana shake
5. Tangerine peel after dehydration under sunlight can be used to make dessert and cook with congee to enhance flavor
6. Preserve tangerine in salt for months to make a salty tangerine which treats sore throat