Mainland Chinese government eases block on waste paper imports from Hong Kong
Environment secretary says Beijing set to issue more permits for cross-border trade in waste paper, which has been backing up in city
The mainland government has given the green light for Hong Kong recyclers to sell waste paper over the border again, raising hopes that the problem of piled-up paper in the city’s piers, and one park, could soon come to an end.
Environment Secretary Wong Kam-sing on Friday called on local exporters to get in touch with their mainland buyers to get the supply moving again.
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About 1,000 recycling plants across the mainland failed to get a permit to bring in foreign waste, causing it to back up in Hong Kong. It mostly accumulated at piers, but of it was moved to EcoPark in Tuen Mun.
But the central government has now boosted the number of permits for the rest of the year.
“The ministry told Hong Kong that there is substantial quota in the rest of this year to [import] waste paper that is qualified, to the mainland,” Wong said, after a meeting with the mainland’s Ministry of Environmental Protection, in Beijing.
