Estimates of the amount of Hong Kong rubbish being recycled are plain rubbish
Overhaul of system is promised as officials admit estimates of the amount of waste the city recycles have been drastically overstated
Officials have admitted that estimates of the amount of Hong Kong waste being recycled - once put at over 50 per cent - have been drastically overstated.
They said yesterday that the figures were distorted by "external factors" beyond their control and the system for calculating them would be overhauled.
The admission came as the Environmental Protection Department reported a slashed recycling rate of 39 per cent in 2012, down from 48 the previous year and a peak of 52 in 2010.
The department blamed fluctuations in the waste trade and irregularities in export declarations for the distortions. In an effort to improve its data collection, it will introduce extra measures, as recommended by a consultant commissioned to look into the problem.
But the officials said they did not believe the distortion would affect policy-making or the achievement of targets set out in the waste-management blueprint released last year.
World Green Organisation chief executive William Yu Yuen-ping said he was concerned about the "inflation of the recycling rate" and urged the department to set up an expert group to review the system.
