We must not misunderstand the Government’s intentions or underestimate its commitment to fully implement the scheme from 1 August. As lessons are learned from the trial period and data is shared, we should be able to launch this scheme efficiently and effectively across the community. .
If the trial fails, some suggest the government should reconsider its plans to launch the waste levy scheme in August, perhaps delaying it until the city has proper recycling facilities in place.
But in reality, it could take another 10 years for Hong Kong to have a perfect recycling system. Consider how recycling systems interact with recycling behavior in places that already have waste charges in place. In South Korea, prepaid garbage bags were introduced nationwide in 1995, and the economic benefits gained by the recycling industry increased from HK$1.7 billion in 2001 to HK$7 billion in 2009. .
In Taiwan, cities such as Taipei have been charging fees for waste disposal by bag since 2000. Incidents of illegal dumping continue to be reported in local news, but waste fees and other measures have had a significant impact on waste generation, leading to a dramatic increase in waste generation. There is. Among the recycling rates.
Reducing waste at source has long been a key objective of the waste levy scheme, which the government has been considering since 2013. It would be hasty to predict the failure of this system before it begins.
To further understand the challenges that may be faced across the city, Green Earth sent a team to the Gautau Kok community center to conduct an audit of the daily waste generated there. After all the waste from all four floors of the center’s offices and classes of interest has been accounted for, most of it has to be disposed of in designated bags by separating it for recycling. We were able to reduce the amount of waste generated from 125 liters to 50 liters. . In other words, after the jumble was separated, the amount of waste sent to the landfill was reduced by 60%.
This audit gives the community center a clear picture of how much it has to pay compared to what it would have saved by minimizing and recycling waste when the waste levy scheme started. . Governments also need to provide information to the public on a regular basis. We have collected such findings from the trial period to increase confidence in the system.
At The Green Earth, we support the “polluter pays” principle. We ask schools, grassroots organizations and businesses to conduct waste audits to understand how separating waste for recycling can reduce waste disposal costs.
In preparation, I encourage everyone in Hong Kong to conduct a waste audit to better understand how much money they have to spend or can save on waste disposal. If there are any issues, the government will have to address them during the six-month phase-in period.
If this system goes into effect, doubts will undoubtedly be raised here and there, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating. Two keys to the success of waste tolling are public education about reducing waste at the source and continuous improvement of the city’s recycling facilities.
Rico Wong is an associate director at The Green Earth
