Incentives needed if household recycling plan is to achieve its 80pc coverage goal
Domestic charges and changes in building codes are being considered to boost household waste recycling as environmental officials warn of difficulties in further pushing ahead with a voluntary waste separation scheme.
Officials say about 420 housing estates have joined the scheme, which they stress is close to meeting the target of 460 estates by the end of this year.
These include private and public estates, and some government housing quarters, out of 1,000 that have been approached with offers of tailor-made advice and even subsidies to implement the scheme.
However, as environmental protection chiefs have set a target of 80 per cent population coverage by 2010, there is a long way to go, with the scheme only having achieved 26 per cent coverage at present.
'It is increasingly difficult as many who have a heart to do it have already joined,' said Lawrence Wong Tung-kwong, principal environmental protection officer.
'Without an incentive like a waste charge, it would be more difficult to recruit new ones by simply convincing them about the environmental benefits.' Details about charges are still being formulated and they would not be introduced until at least 2009 or 2010.
