Only about 20 per cent of residents in one housing block taking part in Hong Kong’s waste charge trial were using the government’s pay-as-you-throw bags to dispose of waste, the estate’s property manager has said.
Hong Kong is set to implement a waste charging scheme on August 1 after multiple delays. But the scheme has sparked controversy over its feasibility and enforcement, as opinion polls suggest a majority oppose introducing it as scheduled.
Stephen Poon, the chairperson of the Hong Kong Association of Property Services Agents, said on Thursday that authorities should consider further postponing the scheme’s start date and strengthen public education on recycling and waste sorting. Poon also manages Chai Wan’s Lin Tsui Estate, one of 14 sites involved in a trial for the scheme.
He said that most residents of Lin Tsui Estate, a single-block public housing estate with around 300 households, had continued to dispose of their waste using regular rubbish bags.
That had significantly increased the workload of the estate’s four cleaners, as they had to manually separate waste and put them into designated bags, Poon added.
“If the entire Lin Tsui Estate was using the green [designated bags], things would be all right… Now cleaners have to sort waste before it goes down the chute, that takes double the amount of time,” Poon told Commercial Radio in Cantonese.
He also said that the property management company would have to cover the costs of the extra bags if residents did not follow the rules. He urged the government to make clear arrangements regarding subsidies or reimbursements if the scheme is rolled out in August as planned.
“The expenses have to be clear. Either [the government] gives us a lump-sum, or it makes arrangement for claims for actual expenses,” Poon said.
Reporting findings
Authorities are set to report the findings from the trial run to the Legislative Council next Monday.
Deputy Chief Secretary Warner Cheuk said in early May that “many problems” had emerged from the trial run, adding that the government should “make sure conditions are ripe and implementation will be smooth.”
Environmental group the Green Earth said the city should not further delay the waste charge and government-managed premises could take the initiative to lead the first phrase of the scheme’s implementation.
According to an online survey by the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute in April, 68 per cent of 1,812 respondents indicated that they opposed the waste charge beginning on August 1. Only 12 per cent said they supported the starting date.
Asked about the scheme itself, 54 per cent said they were against it while 27 per cent said the opposite.
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