Hong Kong’s waste woes can’t wait for next charging scheme attempt

The government shelving plans for a waste-charging scheme comes at a time when Hong Kong’s remaining landfills are on pace to be filled by 2026
The time for debate and deliberation has run out, and the city needs an alternative plan to increase recycling and reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills

Ian Brownlee

Published: 9:30am, 29 May 2024

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Hong Kong’s municipal solid waste disposal problem has been with us for a long time and will not go away soon. The city has reached a crunch point after decades of procrastination and inadequate attention. Once again, a decisive solution has been sidestepped and the problem remains.

Ten years ago, I worked with concerned and knowledgeable individuals in the Integrated Waste Management Action Group. We analysed the government’s proposals in the 2013 blueprint for the sustainable use of resources and concluded that reliance on one large incinerator and waste reduction could not meet the targets.

The group proposed a Plan B. First, it emphasised that the prime objective should be to reduce to the minimum the amount of waste that goes to landfills or incinerators to reduce the need to expand the city’s landfill sites.

Second, four regional sites – none requiring reclamation – should be adopted for fully integrated waste management facilities. Third, all municipal waste should be processed through high-capacity mechanical waste sorting plants before going to waste-to-energy plants or landfills.

Finally, as a last resort, small scale waste-to-energy plants – either incinerators or gasification plants – should be provided within some of these sites to reduce the quantity of municipal waste going to landfills.

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The main issue with the government’s blueprint was that it also depended on a reduction in waste going to landfills. According to the blueprint’s projections, by 2022 waste recycling would account for 55 per cent, incineration 23 per cent and landfill disposal only 22 per cent. The city has yet to live up to these targets.

The group presented Plan B to the Legislative Council and the Town Planning Board, but it appears the government’s Plan A was so entrenched in the bureaucratic process that any alternative was simply not considered.

The waste-charging scheme has not been implemented and waste levels have not been reduced. Recycling is improving but nowhere near the level expected. The incinerator is unfinished and only expected to be operational next year at the earliest. It will take only 3,000 tonnes of waste per day, but in 2022 more than 11,000 tonnes of waste were sent to landfills each day.

In January, the government advised Legco that the remaining capacity of the landfills at Tuen Mun and Ta Kwu Ling will be exhausted in 2026. The situation is now critical, and any discussion on waste charging must be in the context that time has run out. All attempts so far have been ineffective, and the current administration has some difficult decisions to make.

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On May 27, the government provided observations to Legco on the waste-charging scheme trial run in April. The trial was mainly targeted at groups and types of premises with greater concerns about implementation. In other words, they didn’t select the easy ones but those which would likely have problems.

According to the government’s figures, the scheme brought about almost no difference in the amount of waste thrown out at shopping centres and most residential buildings, while restaurants, care homes and government premises recorded a reduction of 10 to 20 per cent. Restaurants and government buildings were mostly in full compliance on using the designated bags, compared to about 70 per cent for shopping centres and between 20 and 50 per cent for households.

These reported reduction rates indicate some positive outcomes in a difficult context. There were sufficient overall reductions to justify taking the waste-charging proposal forward, though perhaps applied with some sensitivity. Upwards of half of households using the designated bags is significant.

The government has placed a great deal of importance on the successful implementation of the waste-charging scheme, right from the inception of the policy in 2005. This requires the community to accept the necessity of adapting to the scheme and change their behaviour. The complaints arising from the public were to be expected – such as the extra time and cost involved and people being uncertain how the scheme works – and all part of the behavioural changes required.

Staff members at Hsin Kuang Banquet Hall in San Po Kong use bags designated for Hong Kong’s municipal waste-charging scheme on May 26. Photo: May Tse

The “user pays” principle is fair in relation to waste disposal, particularly as the whole community faces a cost from unnecessary waste generation. The cost and the time involved are necessary to reduce the waste generated. This process is part of “reduce, reuse and recycle”.

The looming arrival of the waste-charging scheme and the government moving to expand the network of Green@Community recycling stores and collection points have increased avenues for people to recycle. These stores provide incentives for people to recycle and earn modest rewards at the same time. Online communities are also making it easier for people to give away or exchange unwanted items instead of sending them to a landfill.

However, despite this progress the Hong Kong government announced on Monday that the waste-charging scheme will be shelved instead of being fully implemented on August 1. Meanwhile, the government will start handing out garbage bags to every household in public rental flats each month between June and November, which will have the opposite effect of charging for them and means the user no longer has to pay.

Unfortunately, there is now no real alternative to deter the huge amounts of waste bound for Hong Kong’s landfills. Waste charging must still be introduced as soon as possible to start reducing the waste going to landfills. What happens in 2026 when our landfills are full?

There has to be a serious rethink on how to increase the availability of recycling facilities in the meantime. High-capacity mechanical sorting and recycling used elsewhere must be considered for Hong Kong. Perhaps Plan B from 2013 could still be the way to go.

Ian Brownlee is managing director of Masterplan Limited, a planning and development consultancy