Environment minister urges early submission of waste-disposal charge report
The environment minister has urged the Council for Sustainable Development to submit its report on a waste-disposal charge by next summer so that he can start to prepare for its implementation.
The environment minister has urged the Council for Sustainable Development to submit its report on a waste-disposal charge by next summer so that he can start to prepare for its implementation.
Wong Kam-sing, Secretary for the Environment, said the city could not delay charging for waste disposal, which was first raised more than a decade ago.
“If the consultation can stay focused on the issue, they might be able to come up with a report on the views collected earlier, perhaps before or after summer,” he said.
If the consultation can stay focused on the issue, they might be able to come up with a report on the views collected earlier, perhaps before or after summer
On Wednesday, Bernard Chan, chairman of the council, said the report could only be filed in the fourth quarter of next year, after the consultation had ended in late January.
Wong said his bureau would make sure all relevant policy and measures about waste reduction and recycling would be ready before charging was rolled out. An enhanced food-waste recycling plan was being drafted, he said.
The minister said the bureau had no stance on the charging level and models at this stage, but he said there was no need to spend the charges collected on designated purposes such as supporting recycling.
“The investment to be made by the government on waste infrastructure would be far more than the money collected. So, there was no need to put this money into a dedicated fund,” he said.
