Recycling computers would cost owners just HK$20, study finds

Data from project will be used to draft green bill

A tax on electronic waste would cost consumers as little as HK$20 per computer, according to a pilot recycling programme led by the government and the computer industry.

The Environmental Protection Department and the Chamber of Hong Kong Computer Industry ran a six-month campaign to collect and recycle computers. They collected 6,600 at 13 sites across the city.

The department classified the computer units into two categories: those that could be reused and those that could not. The reusable units, 19 per cent of the total collected, were resold and the rest were sold as parts.

The parts that were not sold were sold for recycling. The programme cost more than HK$735,000 and the resales raised HK$346,000. With department and chamber subsidies totalling HK$388,000, each recycled computer cost about HK$60.

The Eco-Product Responsibility Bill to be introduced next year at the earliest will provide a framework for levying taxes on individual products such as plastic bags, tyres and electronic waste, to possibly fund environmental schemes, such as recycling.

Chamber chairman Jacky Cheung Yiu-shing said he believed the levy would consist of three tiers: consumers, manufacturers and retailers. Each would bear a portion of the tax, making the cost for each set as low as HK$20.