Following is a question by the Hon Elaine Chik and a written reply by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Algernon Yau, in the Legislative Council today (May 13):

Question:

     In recent years, occasional incidents of external chargers (commonly known as "portable chargers" or "power banks") catching fire or exploding have posed a serious risk to household and public safety. In April this year, our country issued a mandatory standard entitled "Safety Technical Specifications for Mobile Power Supplies" to further tighten safety requirements and enhance product traceability. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the number of cases received by the Fire Services Department in each of the past three years involving external chargers catching fire, and whether the department has compiled a statistical breakdown based on the state of the device at the time of fire outbreak (e.g. in the process of charging, in use, or in an idle state) or the cause (e.g. short circuit, ageing, and poor-quality battery); if not, how the authorities currently assess the risks arising from the ageing of external charger products;

(2) given that the Mainland has implemented mandatory 3C certification and a new standard for external chargers, whether our relevant legislation will be reviewed to require that products for sale comply with relevant standards, and whether unique product codes will be introduced to enable product tracing by the public; if not, how to ensure no circulation of non-compliant products on the market;

(3) of the number of safety tests conducted by the Customs and Excise Department on external chargers, the failure rate, and the number of prosecutions over the past three years; whether assessment has been made on the risks posed by circulation of non-compliant products on the local market; if not, of the reasons for that;

(4) as old stock may instead be sold to Hong Kong via e-commerce or cross-boundary channels following the implementation of the new standard in the Mainland, whether the authorities have accordingly conducted dedicated monitoring, assessed risks, or stepped up enforcement at boundary control points; if not, of the reasons for that;

(5) whether the authorities have compiled statistics on the number of fires over the past three years at refuse collection vehicles, transfer stations, or landfills due to improper disposal of external chargers or lithium batteries, and analysed the causes of such fires; whether the authorities will set recommended lifespans or replacement guidelines for external chargers; if not, of the reasons for that; and

(6) whether consideration will be given to providing recycling incentives, such as trade-in offers and GREEN@COMMUNITY rewards, to encourage the public to return old external chargers; whether the authorities will explore collaborating with industry to set up retail recycling points or, by drawing on the producer responsibility schemes implemented by the Environmental Protection Department, requiring external charger manufacturers to shoulder the responsibility for treatment and disposal; if not, of the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

     In response to various parts of the question raised by the Hon Elaine Chik, having consulted the Security Bureau, the Environment and Ecology Bureau and the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department (C&ED), our reply is as follows:

(1) From 2023 to 2025, the Fire Services Department (FSD) handled 27, 36 and 59 cases respectively each year involving fires caused by external chargers. The main causes of these fire incidents were battery malfunctions, such as short circuit or overheating, etc. The FSD does not maintain a breakdown of statistics regarding the condition of the external chargers at the time of fire outbreak or the specific causes of the fires.

(2) The 3C Certification is the China Compulsory Certification, which requires products to conduct safety testing based on Guobiao (GB) standards. As far as external chargers are concerned, the current relevant GB standard "Safety Technical Specification for Mobile Power Supplies" specifies various safety requirements for batteries, such as compression, nail penetration, thermal abuse, thermal runaway, etc, to ensure that the risks of overheating, short circuit or self-ignition during design, manufacturing and use of external chargers can be effectively reduced. The Government will closely monitor the overall safety risk of external chargers and, during review of the applicable safety standards, take into account the aforementioned arrangements as well as those adopted in other economies to ensure that the requisite standards align with the latest technological developments and market needs, as well as to safeguard public safety.

(3) and (4) Between 2023 and 2025, the C&ED conducted a total of 615 patrol inspections on external charger products and procured 28 samples of external charger products for safety testing, of which three failed to comply with the safety requirements of the Consumer Goods Safety Ordinance. In connection with the irregularities involving external charger products, the C&ED issued a total of 12 written warnings to the traders concerned.

     Moreover, the C&ED has been liaising with electronic commerce (e-commerce) platforms to require controlled imported goods to strictly comply with the regulations of the relevant laws in Hong Kong. The C&ED will continue to maintain contact with relevant departments through intelligence exchange and joint blitz operations at various boundary control points, and will also step up compliance promotion efforts targeting e-commerce platforms.

(5) and (6) From 2023 to 2025, the FSD handled two, zero and five cases respectively each year involving external chargers or lithium batteries in which fires occurred at refuse collection points, refuse collection vehicles, transfer stations or landfills. The main causes of these fire incidents were battery malfunctions, such as short circuit or overheating, etc.

     The lifespan of electrical products depends on the user habits and actual operating environment, and is difficult to generalise. Generally speaking, members of the public should follow the instructions listed in the manufacturer's user manual when using electrical products including external chargers. Should any abnormal conditions of the product as listed in the manual, such as swelling, deformation, leakage of fluid or a marked reduction in capacity, be detected, the user should stop using and charging the external charger concerned immediately.

     The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) has been collecting nine common types of domestic recyclables, including portable rechargeable batteries, such as external chargers, through the GREEN@COMMUNITY recycling network, providing safe and proper channels of recycling. Members of the public can deliver waste portable rechargeable batteries to any of the collection points of GREEN@COMMUNITY (including 12 Recycling Stations, 82 Recycling Stores and about 600 Recycling Spots), and earn GREEN$ points to redeem rewards or consumption points of various electronic platforms, supermarket vouchers or other gifts.

     In addition, the EPD launched the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Programme in collaboration with the trade since 2005, which is the first voluntary Producer Responsibility Scheme (PRS) funded and operated by the trade. As of April 2026, with the support of over 30 producers, importers, retailers and different organisations, the Programme has set up about 4 500 collection points across the territory, covering different premises such as residential, industrial and commercial buildings, schools, etc, so as to enable members of the public to recycle portable rechargeable batteries commonly generated from households. Since the launch of the programme, it has collected about 1 200 tonnes of rechargeable batteries.

     The main objective of a PRS is to reduce the environmental impact of relevant products by upholding the principle of "polluter pays" and the concept of "eco-responsibility", thereby turning waste into valuable materials and promoting the development of the local circular economy. When assessing whether a product is suitable for a PRS, we need to consider its necessity, recycling and reprocessing situation, outlets for recycled materials, and its priority relative to other products. In particular, we examine whether the local recycling market is equipped with the necessary technology and processing capacity, and whether a clear regulatory scope can be defined, along with specific definitions for the relevant products to enable effective regulation. The Government will continue to monitor the recycling situation of various products (including portable rechargeable batteries) and the development of waste-to-resources technologies, so as to review the feasibility of exploring PRSs for these products.

Ends/Wednesday, May 13, 2026
Issued at HKT 15:35

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