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Recycling and waste reduction

Recycling and waste reduction
Latest news and analysis about the recycling and reduction of waste materials, particularly of plastics, water, paper, metals and e-waste.
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Trending in China

Chinese mum ties mentally disabled son to herself while working, draws attention

A Chinese mother attaches her mentally disabled son to herself while she works to prevent him from wandering, attracting public attention. Photo: SCMP composite/Douyin

Politics

Chinese drones carry 180 tonnes of steel and concrete up mountain

Heavy-lift drones, seen here in footage from state broadcaster CCTV, transport materials to build electricity transmission towers in a mountainous area of Yunnan province in southwest China. Photo: CCTV

China Economy

China approving innovative drugs at record pace, shifting momentum from West

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Employees package medicine at a pharmaceutical company in China’s Shaanxi province. Photo: Xinhua

China Economy

Trump’s copper tariffs fail to stop US metal being shipped to China

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Sheets of pure copper sit in stacks outside a plant awaiting shipment. The US continues to rely heavily on imports of copper, while also exporting large amounts of scrap metal. Photo: Getty Images

Science

China unveils the largest crystal for high-powered laser weapons

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Chinese researchers have created the world’s largest barium gallium selenide (BGSe) crystal which measures 60mm. Photo: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Australian mining giant BHP’s Mount Newman iron ore mine in Western Australia. BHP aims to achieve net-zero operational greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Photo: AFP
Electric & new energy vehicles

CATL, BYD partner with BHP to electrify Australia’s mining industry

The Chinese firms will collaborate with BHP on battery development for mining equipment, locomotives and rapid charging infrastructure.

Indonesia

Indonesia fights to clean up ‘world’s most polluted river’

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Icons and Influencers

Why In Lieu is sourcing ‘premium water’ from Henan’s mountains

Hong Kong environmental issues

Letters | Dragon boat races and the like must have proper waste management plans

Readers discuss waste reduction at large outdoor events, the trouble with reducing clinical training hours for medical lab technologists, and how closing schools will affect students and teachers.

The Stanley International Dragon Boat Championship is held at Stanley Main Beach on Tuen Ng Festival on May 31. Photo: Nora Tam
Energy storage

How a Hong Kong start-up is going about recycling lithium batteries

Achelous Pure Metals plans to bring its scalable, movable, eco-friendly technology to the city followed by Southeast Asia.

Japan

Plastic that dissolves in seawater? Japan unveils ocean pollution solution

The new material is as strong as petroleum-based plastics but breaks down when exposed to salt, researchers say.

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Indonesia

Indonesia’s Bali bans small plastic bottles: bold move or industry killer?

Bali’s governor has banned small plastic bottles to combat waste, sparking debate on environmental impact versus industry concerns.

A street vendor sells drinks in plastic at a beach in Bali, Indonesia. The Bali Provincial Government has banned the production and distribution of bottled drinking water in plastic packaging under one litre to tackle the plastic waste crisis. Photo: EPA-EFE
Hong Kong society

Letters | Hong Kong can regulate video game loot boxes by enforcing its laws

Readers discuss how to tackle gambling-like products, support for working mothers, Hong Kong’s tourism revival, and promoting recycling.

Hong Kong environmental issues

Letters | Single-use alternatives to plastic distract from real solutions

Readers discuss the dangers of quick fixes to plastic pollution, the importance of understanding soft power, and the growing urgency of the climate crisis.

History

Then & Now | Trash talk: Hong Kong’s surprising history of recycling

Believe it or not, Hong Kong was better at recycling before ‘sustainability’ became a buzzword.

Old newspapers are gathered in Kowloon’s Oi Man Estate during a government collection scheme in 1990. Photo: SCMP Archives
Hong Kong environmental issues

Letters | After a year’s delay, Hong Kong is ready to roll out waste charging

Readers discuss the favourable conditions for implementing waste charging, the addictive nature of gaming, and making medical care more comfortable.

A resident takes plastic bottles to the Green@Community recycling collection point at Shek Lei Estate in Kwai Ching on January 9. Photo: Jelly Tse
Architecture and design

In Hong Kong, Editecture creates sustainable designs for brands like L’Occitane

‘Turning waste to wonder’ is the motto driving design firm Editecture’s sustainability projects – here’s how they give plastics new purpose.

Architecture and design

I started a sustainable furniture brand in Hong Kong. Here’s what I learned

In 2014, interior architect Caroline Olah founded her furniture brand with a commitment to responsible design. She recounts what happened when she saw the wood – not just the trees.

Environment

Your clothes are shedding bits of plastic. Here’s what to do about it

Plastic fibres are common in many kinds of clothing, but most current washing machines are ill-equipped to filter them – and it’s having a devastating effect on the environment.

Rachael Z. Miller, founder of the Rozalia Project for a Clean Ocean, conducts a tape test on clothing items to compare how much each material sheds microfibres. Photo: AP
Architecture and design

The designer and ex-engineer for Nasa turning eggshells into lamps

Dilara Kan and Bodin Hon of Studio Yellowdot are crafting bold, beautiful household objects from ‘a month of breakfasts’.

Dilara Kan, left, and Bodin Hon, right, from Yellowdot. Photo: Ali Gulsener
Hong Kong environmental issues

70 Hong Kong retailers allegedly sold oxo-degradable plastics despite ban: NGO

Green Earth says investigation suggests plastic bags, bin liners and pet waste bags labelled as ‘oxo-degradable’ had been sold by retailers.

Fashion

A ban on binning textiles means Sweden’s recycling centres are overflowing

Mountains of clothes piling up in Swedish recycling centres are sparking calls for fashion firms to take responsibility for textile waste.

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Hong Kong environmental issues

Editorial | Hong Kong must keep up the fight against litterbugs

Heavy penalties have had a deterrent effect but much more needs to be done not only to attract visitors but more importantly to boost civic pride.

Hong Kong is clamping down on littering. Photo: Eugene Lee
India

Samsung, Hitachi fight Modi over costly e-waste recycling policy

New rules require certain manufacturers to pay significantly more to recycle air conditioners, refrigerators, TVs and other appliances.

India

Letters | Why India is both world’s happiest place and No 118 behind Ukraine

Readers discuss the widely varying results of different global happiness surveys, Duterte’s arrest by the ICC, and waste reduction at the Hong Kong Sevens.

Indonesia

‘The sooner, the better’: Bali governor wants island waste-free by 2027

A sustainable waste management facility which can convert rubbish to energy is in the works for the resort island.

Workers clean up a river filled with rubbish in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia. Photo: EPA-EFE
Hong Kong environmental issues

Letters | Use of plastic bags to fill holes on Hong Kong beach a travesty

Readers discuss contractors’ actions on a Lantau beach, and a reclamation project in Tseung Kwan O.

Workers clean Upper Cheung Sha Beach on Lantau island on May 28, 2024. Photo: Eugene Lee
Malaysia

Fast fashion: food waste from Malaysian Ramadan bazaars hits the runway

A food waste-reduction group collected over 46,000kg of unsold food over the first two weeks of Ramadan this year, but said the actual wastage was likely to be much higher.

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Mainland China

Video | China’s 315 gala: a night of scandals

Watched by up to a billion people, CCTV’s 315 Gala highlights consumer rights abuses in China.

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Coronavirus pandemic

Chinese cities call for bids to dismantle and recycle makeshift Covid hospitals

Items listed on auction inventories reportedly include prefabricated containers, air conditioners, fire extinguishers, beds and computers.

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In cities around China, fangcang, or makeshift hospitals put up during the pandemic, are being removed. Over the past two years, hundreds have been transformed or dismantled. Phone: Xinhua
Hong Kong environmental issues

Doubts raised over introduction of plastic recycling scheme in Hong Kong

Lack of monetary incentive and long timeline to achieve goals cited as major issues of newly proposed citywide plan.

The government have proposed the introduction of a citywide recycling scheme for plastic bottles and drink cartons. Photo: Eugene Lee
Hong Kong environmental issues

Letters | Hong Kong shouldn’t water down its producer responsibility scheme

Readers discuss the city’s plan to encourage recycling of drink containers, the financial secretary’s attempt to reduce the budget deficit, and the need to reconsider local agriculture.

India

Video | New Delhi pledges to flatten rubbish mountain

Delhi environment minister said waste at the Bhalswa dump ‘will be reduced to a point where it will no longer be visible’ from a distance by 2026  

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