Editorial | Revise rather than throw out Hong Kong’s waste-charging plan
- With proper planning and education, a workable scheme must be devised to cope with the city’s looming mountain of waste
By nearly every measure, the trial run of the city’s waste-charging scheme was a disappointment. Confusion reigned among residents and businesses over how to properly follow it.
The compliance rate for the voluntary two-month trial plumbed depths as low as 20 per cent. Its citywide launch was delayed twice, from December to April and then to August 1. The warning signs were everywhere.
As painful as it was, the government’s decision to shelve the scheme first proposed in 2004 should be considered sensible and pragmatic. The scheme required residents to dispose of their rubbish in an array of designated plastic bags – nine sizes ranging in cost from 30 HK cents to HK$11.
There were complaints about a lack of collection bins, and mobile bins with poor operating hours. The cost of implementation would have put a strain on low-income residents, restaurateurs and care home operators.
Few question the motive of the “pay-as-you-throw” scheme. Protecting the environment and encouraging proper waste reduction and disposal in a place with diminishing landfill space must be the way forward.
The city needs to implement an effective plan to cope with the rising environmental toll of its waste.