Hongkongers will bid farewell to a traditional Mid-Autumn Festival device, the glow stick, with some expressing regret that a beloved item from their childhood would soon be a memory. The six-month grace period for the new regulation on disposable plastic products will end next month, and that includes the ban on selling glow sticks in Hong Kong. Shops in Sham Shui Po were still seen selling glow sticks. Some owners said they did not order new batches of glow sticks this year, as they were worried they might have to throw them away if not all of them could be sold this year. A primary five student, Nicole, said glow sticks are irreplaceable as she had the most fun playing with them. “I’m really unhappy because I can’t play with them next year. Glow sticks are prettier than lanterns. I normally stick them on my body and turn off all the lights, and pretend to be a matchstick figure,” she told RTHK. A man, shopping for glow sticks, said he was disappointed the tradition wouldn’t be passed on to the next generation. “These are memories. All children in different eras had played with glow sticks. I hope we can still play with them. With glow sticks, the festive atmosphere is better,” he said. Another man said he might go elsewhere to buy glow sticks. “I may go to the mainland to buy them, or elsewhere, or buy more glow sticks this year. My kids do play with lanterns, but they are different with glow sticks,” he said. A stationary shopkeeper surnamed Li was still selling glow sticks. "I only ordered a few to refill stock. The sales for glow sticks aren't high for most of the time. For this year, we are only planning to sell a small amount of glow sticks, therefore we didn't order too many," she said. "If we ordered too many and don't manage to sell all of them, we are not allowed to put them on sale anymore." Her shop in Causeway Bay has nine packs of glow sticks on sale, with each pack containing 50 glow sticks. But Li expects only a quarter of them would remain unsold after the festival. At a stationary store in Wan Chai, a woman surnamed Yip pointed out her shop hadn't sold any glow sticks during the festival this year, saying it might be due to the poor economy. "We don't have much stock left, as we didn't dare to order too many," she said. Yip would dispose of any unsold glow sticks after the ban, adding there was nothing they could do even though it would be a waste.
