Hong Kong waste-charging scheme: principals call for more support as schools expected to pay up to tens of thousands of dollars a year under coming measures
- Education sector lawmaker Chu Kwok-keung suggests trying out scheme at government schools to identify potential problems
- Current recycling networks are not up to par and need to be improved by government, principal Esther Ho says
Hong Kong principals have urged authorities to provide more subsidies and improve recycling networks as schools and kindergartens will have to pay up to tens of thousands of dollars a year under a coming waste-charging scheme.
Education sector lawmaker Chu Kwok-keung has suggested trying out the scheme at government schools to identify potential problems and devise solutions to serve as a reference for the sector.
The scheme, set to take effect in August, will require residents to buy government-approved plastic bags, available in nine sizes, for 11 cents (US 1.4 cents) a litre, to dispose of their trash.
Polly Chan Shuk-yee, the principal of Yaumati Catholic Primary School (Hoi Wang Road) and vice-chairwoman of the Hong Kong Aided Primary School Heads Association, called on the government to provide financial support to offset the cost of the bags.
Instead of putting designated bags in all classrooms, many schools are planning to buy the 100-litre ones, priced at HK$11 each, to collect bags of rubbish across campuses as a cost-saving measure.