A green group has called for a phased rollout of a controversial waste charging scheme, whereby it could cover most government premises but exclude public housing estates when it takes effect this August.
In an open letter, environmental group The Green Earth urged the government to roll out the waste tax in phases, requiring government premises – including their offices, public schools, government staff quarters, and government-operated malls and factory estates – to take part.
Public rental housing estates, however, should be exempt from the tax in the proposed first phase of the charging scheme, said the green group’s Executive Director Edwin Lau in the Chinese-language statement.
The group also proposed that relevant government premises be required to set out waste reduction targets with the goal of reducing waste by at least 10 per cent within a 12-month period, and to publicise those targets, along with associated staffing and management costs.
The Environmental Protection Department should also report to the Legislative Council’s environmental affairs panel on a monthly basis, Lau said.
The pay-as-you-throw levy, for which a trial scheme was launched on April 1, is designed to reduce the amount of waste sent to the city’s landfills by charging Hongkongers according to the amount of rubbish they generate.
The test run has seen a low take-up rate so far, with less than half of the participating households using designated bags, which residents and tenants have to buy themselves, to throw out their trash.
Encouragement and messaging
The Green Earth on Thursday also urged the government to encourage the private sector to participate in the waste charging scheme, for instance, by distributing government-authorised bags to businesses, civil groups, and private housing estates.
Tenants and residents would be able to get 15 to 20 bags per month, over a course of three months for the first phase proposed by the green group.
Legislation was needed to regulate excessive packaging, Lau said, adding that it would then fall to the business sector to “take the lead” and reduce waste at the source under the government’s Producer Responsibility Scheme.
Doing so would avoid the impression that the government’s waste reduction policy only regulates household waste while disregarding industrial and commercial waste, he said.
Addressing the government’s messaging, the advocacy group advised against blaming or punishing residents to pressure them into complying with the charging scheme, and to instead focus on offering practical solutions to reduce waste.
“Over the past few months, publicity efforts for the waste tax have failed to attend to public concerns,” Lau wrote, adding that the authorities could set up a “response team” to gauge public opinion and address misconceptions.
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