Last month, lawmakers finally passed a bill to allow Hong Kong residents to be charged for their waste disposal. But, although nearly 70 per cent of Hongkongers favour the waste charge, it won’t be implemented until at least 18 months later, leaving the Environment Bureau’s Waste Blueprint for Hong Kong 2035 swinging in the breeze.
Advertisement
Inaction in the Legislative Council used to be blamed on pan-democrat lawmakers. That is not an issue any more since none are left. So why the delay? Do legislators really think it serves Hong Kong people to hold off on a waste charge when landfills are nearly overflowing?
Perhaps legislators would defend themselves by saying that it is a burden on livelihoods already taxed by the Covid-19 pandemic. But, after the events of the past two years, why not try instead to give residents hope by putting in place a resilient waste management infrastructure worthy of one of the most advanced cities on the planet?
An aerial view of the Northeast New Territories Landfill in Ta Kwu Ling on August 14. Photo: Winson Wong
This is another failure of Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s government as far as the people are concerned.
We should not forget that Lam is an expert in these matters, having chaired the Steering Committee to Promote Sustainable Development of the Recycling Industry under Leung Chun-ying. “One of my responsibilities in this term of government is to provide steer to the Environment Bureau in the overall mainstreaming of organic waste reduction and treatment,” she was quoted as saying in a 2014 government plan to reduce food waste.
Lam’s committee was also meant to “provide an internal platform to align more effectively the work of government departments in waste management, including the management of organic waste”. At the time, the Environment Bureau’s target was to reduce the municipal solid waste disposal rate to landfills by 40 per cent on a per capita basis by 2022, using 2011 as the base. That is not even close to happening.
Advertisement
Charging for rubbish disposal bags at about 11 cents per litre will change people’s behaviour.
Throwing away less leftover food and sorting recyclables like plastic, paper and glass will have the beneficial effects of both reducing greenhouse gas emissions and reducing the burden on Hong Kong’s landfills. The bag charge will help fund the long-promised plan laid out in Hong Kong 2035 waste blueprint.
