Recycling bins at MTR stations raise doubts

For the first time in its 32-year history, the MTR has installed recycling bins for paper, plastic and metals in all of its stations, but critics say the bins are likely to have a limited impact without a government-imposed waste charge and greater public awareness.

Some 158 bins have been installed in all MTR line stations except those on the Light Rail line, following a two-year trial at Hong Kong Station that saw 200 kilograms of recyclable waste collected per day.

Last month, when the new bins - blue for paper, brown for plastic and yellow for metal - were in place, more than 22,000 plastic bottles were collected, leading to a drop in the amount of recyclable materials found in regular rubbish bins, Ivan Lai Ching-kai (pictured), the MTR's head of operations, said.

The MTR has maintained wastepaper recycling bins since 2001, and thanks to the new programme 'they are performing even better than before', Lai said. But Edwin Lau Che-feng, director of Friends of the Earth, wondered why the MTR waited so long to introduce recycling bins into its stations. 'They should have been installed much earlier,' he said.

According to one recycling consultant, the MTR considered installing the coloured bins in its stations 10 years ago, but decided they would pose too much of an inconvenience to passengers.

'Their main concern was that they were an obstruction. That's all they kept talking about,' said Philip Stride, who ran Sustainable Solutions, which designed and installed recycling systems in housing estates and office buildings. The company shut down last year due to a lack of demand.

Lai said the MTR's first priority was on maintaining passenger flow. 'We have to make a balance between convenience and obstruction,' he said. 'It is not our primary responsibility to collect rubbish.'