Letters | To increase plastic bottle recycling, Hong Kong must make polluters pay

Name: Indonesians swap trash for bus tickets in a bid to help reduce plastic waste
Uploaded: 2021-04-27T23:30:09.000Z
Duration: 1 min 36 s
Description: Indonesians swap trash for bus tickets in a bid to help reduce plastic waste

Instead of the ‘rebate’ system proposed by the government, the experience of other countries suggests a ‘deposit’ system will work better

People must bear the cost if they do not recycle the plastic they use

Reading Time:2 minutes

Why you can trust SCMP

Row upon row of plastic bottles in the drinks section of a supermarket in Sheung Wan in December 2018. A top priority in Hong Kong’s plastic recycling plan must be to reduce waste at source. Photo: Sam Tsang

Letters

Published: 7:30am, 28 Apr 2021Updated: 7:30am, 28 Apr 2021

We would like to respond to the producer responsibility scheme on plastic beverage containers that the Environmental Protection Department recently proposed. Greenpeace questions if the policy would be effective in driving recycling in Hong Kong, given the extremely low incentive at 10 HK cents and an unproven “rebate” method. We suggest that a deposit, which has been adopted in different countries, should be implemented instead.

Looking back on the plastic shopping bag charging scheme, the imposition of a 50 cent levy has not been as effective as expected, with 760 tons of plastic bags a day disposed of at landfills in 2019. Why then would the government consider a rebate of 10 cents enough to change Hongkongers’ habits?

A survey conducted by the University of Hong Kong and an environmental group partner from June 2019 to May 2020 showed that 52 per cent of participants of a recycling scheme, who are probably more environmentally conscious, think plastic bottle deposits should be set between 50 cents and HK$1. This implies that the current 10 cent incentive is insignificant even from supporters’ point of view, not to mention the general public who might not be interested in the issue to begin with.

We demand a policy that does not solely depend on users taking action voluntarily, but one that creates a sense of responsibility in all users to do their part and recycle plastic by giving them a strong incentive.

01:36

Indonesians swap trash for bus tickets in a bid to help reduce plastic waste

Instead of a “rebate” system, a “deposit” system would implement the “polluters pay” principle whereby users must bear the cost if they do not recycle the plastic they use. This responsibility-driven system makes recycling less of a bonus than a rebate system.

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x

.css-sioo19{color:#c79a00;}Letters | To increase plastic bottle recycling, Hong Kong must make polluters pay

Letters | To increase plastic bottle recycling, Hong Kong must make polluters pay