Editorial | Hong Kong still needs a waste-charging scheme
Despite the decline in solid waste levels, there is a need for a solution to deal with the reality of the city’s overwhelmed landfills
This does nothing to clarify the future of the scheme, with Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan having told lawmakers the government would reintroduce it “when necessary”. He said a decline in waste volumes and an uptick in the recycling rate indicated current efforts were effective in achieving the same goal.
Green groups are right to remain unconvinced. Steven Chan Wing-kit, assistant environmental affairs manager at The Green Earth, a local NGO, said the drop was probably due to public awareness generated by the controversy last year over the trial of the scheme. Chan said the government still had to find ways to sustain public awareness and motivation to reduce waste.
Without an impending deadline for the introduction of waste charging in the foreseeable future, there is concern that public enthusiasm could fade. Tse said the government was not abandoning the scheme, but monitoring trends to see if it is no longer needed.
The scheme would require residents to dispose of rubbish in prepaid, designated bags costing between 30 HK cents (4 US cents) and HK$11, with offenders facing penalties or prison time.
Low public readiness was cited for delays in introducing the scheme. Eventually, a two-month trial was conducted at 14 locations before that too was shelved. The reality remains that the city’s landfills are taxed and rapidly filling.