Mil Mill, the only drinks carton recycler in Hong Kong, has found a new site for its recycling plant after its previous lease was not renewed by its government-backed landlord last year.
“After a lot of hard work, Mil Mill was finally able to find a suitable factory to relocate to,” Mil Mill posted on Facebook on Wednesday.
The recycler said their current landlord, the government-backed Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP), allowed them to extend the lease for three months to September 30. Mil Mill had been supposed to vacate the site on Friday.
“We hope that there will be a seamless transition between the services of the old and new plants, with minimal disruptions to our customers and partners,” the post read. However, it did not disclose where it would move to.
HKFP has reached out to co-founder Harold Yip for comment.
Mil Mill is able to process a maximum of 50 tonnes of beverage cartons daily and convert them into paper pulp, according to its website.
Land lease ended last year
Mil Mill moved to its current site in the HKSTP-owned Yuen Long Industrial Estate, in 2019, according to local media reports. It original lease ran from January 2019 to December 2021 before being extended for a year.
However, Mil Mill was informed by HKSTP last September that its lease would not be renewed at the end of the year because the industrial estate had been repositioned into an “InnoPark” to promote digital and technology innovation.
Mil Mill’s co-founder Harold Yip said at the time that the lease had been altered to facilitate “re-industrialisation” projects such as the development of microelectronics. Yip said the recycling facility could be forced to close or relocate by the end of 2022.
When asked about Mil Mill during a weekly press conference last September, Chief Executive John Lee said that it was government policy to support the recycling industry. “We have proactively contacted them and hope to see how we can help.”
On September 29, HKSTP published a statement, announcing that after a series of “active discussions” with the Environment and Ecology Bureau, it would offer a six-month grace period to its tenant Secure Information Disposable Services Limited (SSID) – the parent company of recycling plant Mil Mill – ending June 30, 2023.
Mil Mill has been responsible for recycling drinks cartons received by Green@Community, the recycling faculties set up by the government.
In February, the Environmental Protection Department announced it would be hiring a recycler through open-tendering to deal with all Green@Community drinks cartons from July 1. The government has yet to announce the results of the tendering process.
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