Recycle or Die

On Topic:
Recycling, How It Works
Biodegradable vs Non-biodegradable
Recycling Venues

With even ParknShop getting into green gear and switching to biodegradable plastic bags, it’s high time you started dong your part to help the environment. So get started recycling – yes, they’ve been saying it for years, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less important. It’s a shame the government hasn’t made it clearer or easier for you to get started, but hey, at least we’re here to help with this handy guide.

The Upcoming Landfill Crunch

Out of sight, out of mind… This couldn’t be less true. There are only three landfills in the whole of Hong Kong, and the Friends of the Earth (FOE) environmental concern group predicts that by 2015, all three will be too full to continue dumping.

Recycling seems to be our only feasible alternative – and the government knows this. In the past few years, over 28,000 additional three-colored waste separation bins have been placed throughout the city. Also, the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) has created the Program on Source Separation of Domestic Waste, which has created waste separation facilities on each floor of major housing developments.

But despite all this, the FOE’s research reveals only 20 percent of Hong Kong households recycle. “It’s true that the government is promoting recycling,” says FOE project manager Stephen Chung. “But the movement isn’t popular.”

That’s of little surprise – why bother going to a collection point when you can easily take the lazy route and throw your recyclables in with the other trash? “We have to make recycling as convenient as possible,” says Professor L.S. Chan of the Earth Science Department at the University of Hong Kong. “In some countries in the west, garbage fees are increased by 20-30 percent to include recycling charges.”