By Oscar Liu

Copyright scmp

Hong Kong authorities have not given up the “pay-as-you-throw” waste charging scheme, according to the environment chief, and the goal of achieving “zero landfill” by 2035 remains unchanged.
The comments made by the Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan on Monday followed the government’s announcement last Tuesday that the scheme would be put on hold indefinitely, as the city was battling Super Typhoon Ragasa.
“We have not decided to cancel or stop using the waste charging scheme in the future. We believe that at this stage, it is necessary to temporarily defer [the scheme], considering various factors. We will continue this deferral, but that does not mean we will do nothing after the deferral,” he said on a radio programme.
“The charging scheme is a tool. If we feel that the tool is not effective at the current stage, we believe we should use other methods to reduce waste and promote recycling.”
Tse defended the government’s decision to continue suspending the scheme, citing strong public opposition and better-than-expected results from current voluntary efforts.
“In response to public feedback, the government decided to suspend the charging. However, following the suspension, you can see that we have been strongly promoting waste reduction and recycling,” he said.
“The government’s determination to promote waste reduction and recycling, as well as the goal of achieving zero landfill by 2035, will absolutely not change,” Tse added.
First proposed in 2004 and passed by the legislature in 2021, the scheme would require residents to dispose of rubbish in prepaid, designated bags costing between 30 HK cents (4 US cents) and HK$11, with offenders facing penalties or even imprisonment.
The plan was shelved in May last year.
Official data showed that the average daily quantity of municipal solid waste sent to landfills dropped by 7.5 per cent over three consecutive years, from 11,358 tonnes in 2021 to 10,510 tonnes in 2024, despite overall growth in gross domestic product.
The per capita disposal rate also declined by 8.5 per cent to 1.4kg per day over the same period.
According to the minister, public awareness and recycling efforts have improved since the suspension in May last year, resulting in a 5 per cent decrease in overall municipal solid waste disposed of between the first halves of last year and this year.
Despite the uptick in the recycling rate and a decline in waste volume, environmentalists warned earlier that the results were “not even close” to the government’s decade-old goals.
According to the 2013 sustainable resources blueprint, the government aimed for a per capita waste disposal rate of 0.8kg per day and a 55 per cent recycling rate by 2022.
However, the 2023 figures stood at 1.44kg per capita and a 33 per cent recycling rate.
In 2024, the waste disposal rate improved slightly to 1.4kg per capita, and the recycling rate increased to 34 per cent.
The minister pointed to the current economic situation and industry difficulties as major factors influencing the decision to keep the scheme suspended.

He said that multiple surveys indicated about 70 to 80 per cent of the public believed it was currently “unsuitable” to implement the charging scheme, while catering and cleaning sectors were grappling with manpower shortages and operational challenges.
Industry stakeholders in property management, catering and cleaning also expressed similar concerns, he said.
“Since the public feels that the time is not yet right under the current economic climate, and we have seen a clear effect in waste reduction and recycling efforts over the past few years, we feel there is a lot of room for us to act. Considering all these factors, we feel the government must respond to the public’s demands,” Tse said.
The minister pledged to step up publicity and education, perfect the recycling network, extend smart recycling bins and machines to include private estates, and collaborate more closely with industries to find cost effective solutions to waste reduction.