‘Miserably small’: Hong Kong government scales back trial run of waste charging, prompting criticism from green groups and lawmaker
- Trial run launching next month will now cover only 14 premises including one government office block and three private residential buildings
- Scheme was already delayed by four months so testing phase could show residents how the charging would work in practice
Authorities have scaled back a trial run of the controversial pay-as-you-throw scheme to be launched in Hong Kong next month and it will now cover only 14 premises, including one government office block and three private residential buildings.
The move immediately sparked claims by a green group and a lawmaker on Friday that the trial programme was “too small” to test the effectiveness of the already delayed citywide waste tax scheme to be implemented in August.
They also said the government had failed to live up to the promise made by Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan in January that “some government buildings” would take the lead by demonstrating the waste charging scheme.
“No public schools, large parks, government dormitories, recreational facilities or clinics and hospitals under the Hospital Authority joined the trial scheme,” said Steven Chan Wing-kit, assistant environmental affairs manager at Green Earth.
“With a limited scale, we worry that the trial run will not allow members of the public to learn from practical operations and relieve their doubts.”
The charging scheme was earlier pushed back by four months after the city leader cited a need to better promote the policy amid public confusion.