The full implementation of Hong Kong’s waste-charging scheme, which was already delayed to August earlier this year, will not go ahead as scheduled, local media reported on Sunday citing sources.
Sources said authorities will not impose the municipal solid waste tax on August 1, and will not set a date for the scheme’s citywide roll-out following a two-month trial run. The plan was first raised two decades ago.
The government will continue to distribute designated garbage bags to public housing estates for six months to allow residents to get used to using the designated bags. Private housing estates will also receive designated bags conditionally.
The scheme was designed to reduce the volume of domestic waste to ease pressure on landfills, and promote recycling by requiring people to pay for what they throw away through the use of designated bags. Pro-establishment heavyweights had criticised it as “Mission Impossible”.
‘Public disturbance’
The reported delay came two days after the government said members of the public, who took part in the pilot scheme at 14 premises, found the scheme to be a “public disturbance.” Some residents thought the waste levy was a hassle and the designated rubbish bags overpriced, a government paper submitted to the legislature last Friday read.
The government did not state in the paper whether the waste levy will be enforced as scheduled.
Described by the government as “the centre of our overall waste reduction strategy,” the waste tax was first proposed by the authorities in 2005. The scheme was approved by the legislature in August 2021 following several consultations and trials.
Repeated delays
The full implementation of the waste tax was originally scheduled to roll out on April 1, but the government delayed the launch in January citing public concerns. Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan said at the time that the government needed “more time for preparations” and would try new ways of promotion, including “on-site demonstrations.”
Instead, the government began a trial run at 14 selected premises in April, including public and private residential buildings, shopping malls, restaurants and residential care homes.
Lawmakers are set to review the result of the waste charge trial run and the direction of the scheme on Monday at a joint meeting held by the Panel on Environmental Affairs and Panel on Food Safety and Environmental Hygiene.
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