Think Tank | Beyond the Bin: Navigating HK’s Incoming Beverage Carton Policy & Tackling the “Unrecyclable” Waste Blind Spots

GREEN Hospitality
1 day ago
6 min read

On 28 July 2026, GREEN Hospitality and the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) co-organised a Think Tank workshop titled ‘Beyond the Bin: Navigating HK’s Incoming Beverage Carton Policy & Tackling the “Unrecyclable” Waste Blind Spots’.

The event convened 24 participants from a diverse array of sectors, including hospitality, tourism, nonprofits, government, environmental services, real estate, and technology. To collaboratively promote circular economy practice in Hong Kong and Macau, participants actively shared ideas on waste circularity and the upcycling of hard-to-recycle materials, including Tetra Pak, single-use plastics, textiles, mattresses, ceramics, and other ‘unrecyclable’ waste.

Insights and Research on Upcycling Hard-to-recycle Materials

The event was enriched by the three presentations and insights from distinguished industry leaders and academic researchers.

Harold Yip, Co-Founder of Mil Mill and Secure Information Disposal Services Limited (SSID), opened the session by sharing Mil Mill’s work in recycling Tetra Paks and used hand towels. This was followed by a presentation by a group of master’s students from The University of Hong Kong (HKU) on research and guidelines on beverage carton recycling within the hospitality sector. Additionally, Ada Ng, Complex Director of Impact & Sustainability at Rosewood Hong Kong, shared upcycling solutions for different types of material.

Below is a summary of each speaker’s sharing and insights.

Processing Plant for Beverage Cartons and Circularity Solutions

Speaker: Harold Yip, Co-Founder of Secure Information Disposal Services Limited (SSID) / Mil Mill

Mil Mill operates as Hong Kong’s first pulp recycling plant for paper drink cartons and other recyclables.

Here, Harold explained the technical process of recycling beverage cartons: pulping lines convert fibres within Tetra Pak and paper waste into the raw materials for paper-making, which are then shipped to Mainland China to manufacture new tissue rolls and hand towels.

Highlighting a collaborative project with Swire to recycle used hand towels, Harold shared some common challenges faced by recycling practitioners:

Regional Logistics and Regulatory Barriers: Current regulations enforced by Hong Kong’s Environmental Protection Department (EPD) complicate the logistics of shipping waste paper and raw pulp between Hong Kong, Macau, and Mainland China. High freight costs make transshipment unprofitable, while multi-leg logistics (e.g., Macau using Hong Kong as a transit hub) generates excess transport carbon and may be limited under government regulation. Harold advocated expanding regional recycling networks beyond Mainland China to destinations like Singapore.
Hygiene and Contamination Risk: Addressing concerns of hygiene regarding used paper towels, which heightened during post-COVID period, Harold clarified that raw materials are sterilised at 400°C during the production processes. Moreover, contamination risks stem primarily from improper storage and handling during early-stage collection and transit rather than industrial processing.

“While traditional paper recycling yields carbon savings of around 4.1 tonnes per tonne of paper, implementing full circularity practices pushes carbon reductions past 5.6 tonnes.” Harold Yip.

Closing the Loop: Hotel Beverage Carton Recovery — Baseline Analysis and Operational Guide

Speaker: HKU master’s student research group of Sustainability Leadership and Governance Programme (SLGP): Urania Yau, Flora Chen, Jessie Huang, Rachel Leung

HKU master's student research group presented their research in beverage carton recycling and a practical toolkit designed to help hotels integrate beverage carton recovery into their daily food and beverage (F&B) operations. Their presentation introduced the multi-layered material composition of Tetra Pak and evaluated the current – often inadequate – status of hotel beverage carton recycling in Hong Kong.

To bridge these operational gaps, the students developed a step-by-step implementation framework in their toolkit, which equips hotel operators with the knowledge to set reasonable recycling targets based on volume, map internal carton waste flows from various touchpoints like kitchens and bars, and implement standardised cleaning and collection workflows. The toolkit also provides protocols for measurement, tracking, and environmental reporting, concluding with a pre-launch readiness checklist to ensure a recovery system can be smoothly deployed across any property.

“The current recovery rate of beverage cartons in Hong Kong is below 1%, compared to 57% in Taiwan and 76% in Germany. It is not impossible to recycle beverage cartons, but practitioners need more guidelines on recycling to make that happen.” – HKU research group

Read the full guide here.

Reimagining Hospitality Through Circularity

Speaker: Ada Ng, Complex Director of Impact & Sustainability at Rosewood Hong Kong

In introducing the concept of ‘Circular Hospitality’, Ada shared innovative solutions to upcycling different materials. The table below is a collection of upcycling solutions integrated within Rosewood Hong Kong’s daily operation:

Material Stream	Original Waste Item	Upcycled End Product	Partner / Collaborator
Food	Surplus fresh fruit	Staff canteen meals	(Internal Operations)
Food	Unused pork trotters (Western kitchens)	Ingredients for Chinese restaurant menus	(Internal Operations)
Textiles	Retired hotel linens	Adaptive clothing for senior citizens	Rhys Workshop Ltd.
Textiles	Worn staff uniforms	Guest bill folders and shawls	Crestwell Attire
Textiles	Bedsheets	Souvenirs for community lunches	(Community Events)
Textiles	Bathrobes	Sleeping mats for local animal shelters	Local Dog Shelters
Ceramics	Damaged ceramic tableware	Cocktail mugs and charitable keychains	Tochi Lab and LoveXpress
Glass	Empty wine bottles	Festival candles	LoveXpress
Leather & Corks	Used wine corks and leather remnants	Guest drink coasters	In2orbits
Soap & Wax	Leftover soap bars and candles	Souvenirs for community dinners	(Community Events)

“Think Circular is more than a strategy. It's a mindset. A commitment to rethink, redesign, and create value beyond traditional hotel operations.” – Franck Bermond, cited by Ada to conclude her sharing.

Roundtable Discussion: Exchanging Solutions for Recycling ‘Unrecyclable’ Waste

Following the speakers’ insightful sharing, participants broke into three focused roundtable discussions to tackle specific hard-to-recycle materials.

Below is a summary of the discussion at each of the roundtables.

Table 1: Tetra Pak and Single-use Plastic (SUP) Packaging

Participants, including representatives from HKU, Lanson Place, and the Business Environment Council, identified several critical operational roadblocks hindering widespread adoption.

Smaller hotels frequently struggle with a lack of back-of-house space for sorting and storing materials, which exacerbates the disproportionately high costs of collection and transportation for low-volume properties. Furthermore, with the municipal solid waste charging scheme postponed and the Producer Responsibility Scheme (PRS) still in development, there is currently a lack of regulatory pressure or financial incentive for businesses to dedicate time and manpower to carton recycling.

To overcome these hurdles, participants at the table emphasised that a ‘one-size-fits-all’ recycling model is ineffective; the industry must develop tailored frameworks for small, medium, and large hotels to ensure the sorting workload remains manageable for frontline staff. A standout solution proposed was the establishment of shared collection arrangements among neighbouring hotels. By consolidating waste volumes and leveraging industry associations to coordinate logistics and procurement, properties can significantly reduce transportation costs and navigate the current shortage of local recycling service providers.

Finally, participants highlighted the importance of visibility and top-down structural support. Recycling efforts often falter when staff and guests cannot see the end results of their participation, meaning hotels must provide tangible evidence of success—such as concrete recovery data or physical recycled products—to build habit and purpose. On a macro level, the table called for stronger government action, urging the integration of hospitality circularity targets into upcoming five-year environmental plans. Participants advocated for financial subsidies to improve commercial viability, expanded collection infrastructure, and transparent reporting standards to support the industry's transition.

Table 2: Mattress, Textile, and Furniture

Participants shared emerging best practices and industry collaborations like The Langham, Hong Kong’s and Rosewood Hong Kong’s oyster shell recycling initiative, and The Venetian Macao’s efforts to repurpose linens and uniforms.

A standout concept was shared by Sweetdream Mattress, which embeds a 10% disposal fee directly into the purchase price—a necessary workaround given the current lack of mattress breakdown facilities in Hong Kong. Global examples, such as France's subsidised polycotton recycling facility, and local collaborative networks like The Mills Fabrica, were praised as blueprints for fostering innovation.

However, the sector faces a significant hurdle regarding who bears the cost of circularity. Businesses are reluctant to absorb disposal fees that don't add immediate value, causing high operational and equipment costs for service providers like Mil Mill. To overcome this, the table stressed the need for ‘value-adding solutions’ where recycled textiles are transformed into new, consumable raw materials that the market actively buys back. The mere prospect of the municipal waste charging scheme had already shown promise in triggering hotel interest in these paid recycling services.

Infrastructural and regulatory gaps severely limit progress. The transfer of recycled raw materials remains a logistical grey area, with cross-border shipments sometimes held up between Hong Kong, Macau, and Mainland China. Participants concluded that addressing the sheer lack of local processing options requires enhanced Greater Bay Area coordination, targeted government investment, and aligned policies to make the recycling industry an attractive, viable space for local entrepreneurs.

Conclusion

One of the greatest achievements of the event was highlighting the fact that materials often labeled as ‘unrecyclable’ are not actually unrecyclable. As emphasised by the speakers and roundtable participants, there are better practices and options for recycling available today – from pioneer practitioners who are providing the recycling services, ongoing research on circularity practices, to innovative solutions demonstrated by hotels in Hong Kong and Macau.

By adopting emerging operational guidelines, fostering creative cross-sector partnerships, and exploring regional coordination across the Greater Bay Area, the industry can steadily transition toward a more sustainable, circular approach to waste management, even for hard-to-recycle materials such as Tetra Pak, textiles, and ceramics.

The insights gathered will directly inform our Sustainable Hospitality Roadmap, ensuring practical strategies for the industry.