Letters | Hong Kong recycling bins: ugly, often messy and hardly fit for purpose

In truth, there are not enough of those recycling bins, inadequate as they are. They are not always close to where one lives and often they are already overflowing. Something appears wrong with the design. The small openings make it difficult for users to deposit the rubbish. Often those bins are messy – greasy surfaces and dirty push flaps – which puts off users further. How often are they cleaned by the contractors? Are the cleaning requirements enforced by the government?

For a city which is not infrequently presented as an art hub, those bins also look singularly devoid of aesthetic appeal – there is not the slightest attempt in their design to make them pleasing to the eye or blend with the surroundings; and all this notwithstanding that where they do stand, they tend to be very visible.

Clemence Yeung, Admiralty