Government unveils plan for HK$1 recycling levy on glass bottles
Water and juice containers will be added to the list under the government’s plans to raise millions to recycle the glass locally
People would need to pay a recycling levy on water and fruit juices sold in glass bottles, not just bottled beers and wine, under a government proposal.
Under the plan - unveiled by the Environment Bureau on Thursday for a three-month public consultation - about 1,700 importers and distributors will be subject to a levy based on either the volume or number of bottles involved.
Environment officials say the initial levy could be around HK$1 per one-litre bottle. How the fee would be divided between importers, wholesalers, retailers and consumers would be a matter for "market forces".
The levy would raise tens of millions of dollars a year, which would go towards hiring a contractor to set up a glass-waste recovery network and handle collection logistics.
Environment Secretary Wong Kam-sing said he hoped the levy would help recover 70 per cent of glass waste.
Although Wong said glass bottles of sauce and food would be excluded from the proposal at this stage as they were more difficult to clean prior to recycling, he would not rule out the possibility of the fee eventually being imposed on them.
"If awareness is increased, we can consider expanding the scheme," he said.