Editorial | Waste charges in Hong Kong cannot be swept under carpet
Official data suggests Hong Kong’s output of rubbish has peaked thanks to recycling, but environmental groups fear complacency after scrapping of levy
Waste management appears to have become a less pressing issue since the government shelved its controversial rubbish levy amid confusion and criticism earlier this year.
But it does not alter the fact that Hong Kong remains one of the most wasteful cities in the world. The mounting problem simply cannot be swept under the carpet for too long.
If the latest official data is any reference, the waste mountain is actually shrinking. The amount of rubbish generated per person is said to be “on a steady decline”, with a 4.7 per cent drop from 1.51kg per day in 2022 to 1.44kg last year.
For the city as a whole, the daily quantity of waste on average last year was 10,884 tonnes, a 2.2 per cent decrease from 2022, and down by 4.2 per cent from 2021.
The reduction is attributed to government efforts in promoting recycling. “The current administration actively promoted waste reduction and recycling, expanded and improved the recycling network, and started food waste recycling. We saw the waste quantity has peaked and started declining steadily,” Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan said in his official blog.
We hope the government is not suggesting that waste management is no longer an urgent issue.
