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| Exterior view of the "Green in Wan Chai" recycling station. Photo courtesy of the Environmental Protection Department of the HKSAR Government |
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| Plastic bottle recycling machines in public places in Hong Kong. Photo by reporter Jin Chen |
On the bustling streets of Hong Kong, there are more and more shops and trucks printed with the large number "6", which are particularly eye-catching with white letters on a green background. The homonym of "6" and "green" in Cantonese is the brand logo of Hong Kong's community recycling network "Green in the District", implying that green life is everywhere.
In recent years, the Hong Kong SAR Government has taken multiple measures to vigorously promote waste reduction and recycling, build a resource conservation and recycling system, and strive to achieve the vision of "waste reduction, resource recycling and zero waste landfill".
Shared environmental responsibility
Plastics are the primary target of waste reduction in Hong Kong. Not long ago, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government began to implement the relevant legislation on "control of disposable plastic tableware and other plastic products" (commonly known as the "plastic removal order"), prohibiting the local sale of disposable plastic tableware and prohibiting catering premises from providing customers with 9 types of disposable plastic tableware.
TJI, which has more than 190 outlets in Hong Kong, has been promoting more environmentally friendly wood and pulp tableware in its restaurants before the implementation of the "Plastic Removal Order". "In the first month of 'plastic free', seventy percent of takeaway customers have taken the initiative to reduce the use of disposable tableware." Ke Jinyu, director of corporate planning of the company, said.
In order to reduce the generation of municipal solid waste at source, the Hong Kong SAR Government has implemented the "Producer Responsibility Scheme" for plastic shopping bags, electrical and electronic products and glass beverage containers. Nowadays, when you go to Hong Kong supermarkets, you will find that almost everyone brings their own shopping bags.
Another Producer Responsibility Scheme (PRS) requires suppliers of regulated electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) to be responsible for reporting and paying recycling levies, and to have a "recycling" service plan endorsed by the Environmental Protection Department of the HKSAR Government to provide consumers with free removal services.
"The Producer Responsibility Scheme for Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) is designed to allow manufacturers, importers, wholesalers, retailers and consumers to share the responsibility for recycling, recycling, handling and disposing of waste products." The Director of Environmental Protection of the Hong Kong SAR Government, Mr Tsui Ho-kwong, said that the HKSAR Government plans to introduce a bill to gradually include five products, namely plastic beverage containers, cartons of paper bags, electric vehicle batteries, car tires and lead-acid batteries, to more widely implement "polluter pays" and "shared environmental responsibility".
Improve the recycling system
Strengthening the source classification of waste is the premise of building a resource conservation and recycling system. In recent years, the Hong Kong SAR Government has accelerated the improvement of the recycling system and expanded the coverage of the recycling network, and the recycling culture in Hong Kong has become a common practice.
Open the "Green Reward" APP on your mobile phone, scan the code to select the recycled items, and then weigh and classify them...... At the "Green in Wan Chai" recycling station, Ms. Lee, a resident of Wan Chai, threw waste paper and plastic bottles, which allowed her to accumulate more than 2,000 points in her "Green Reward" account. "I used 1,000 points to exchange for 1 kilogram of fragrant rice, which not only supports environmental protection, but also earns points for gifts, and the sense of accomplishment is doubled." Ms. Li said with a smile.
Opened in 2021, the "Green in Wan Chai" recycling station is the largest public collection point in the "Green in the District" community recycling network. Nine types of waste, including paper, metal, plastic, and glass bottles, are recycled and transported to downstream recyclers approved by the Environmental Protection Department of the Hong Kong SAR Government for reuse.
"Collecting points and redeeming gifts will help encourage citizens to develop the habit of reducing 'waste' and recycling in their daily lives." Liu Peishan, executive vice chairman of the Hong Kong Wan Chai District Association, the organizer of "Green in Wan Chai", told reporters that after continuous promotion, the number of citizens participating in recycling has increased significantly, and the recycling volume has increased from 20 tons per month in 2021 to 43 tons per month now.
Food waste recycling is an important part of Hong Kong's well-established community recycling network. According to the data, food waste is the most important municipal solid waste in Hong Kong's landfills, accounting for nearly one-third of the total amount disposed of. Since 2022, the HKSAR Government has stepped up efforts to deploy food waste recycling facilities in commercial and industrial premises and communities, and the total amount of food waste recycling has nearly doubled from about 135 tonnes per day in 2022 to about 260 tonnes now.
"In the coming year, the HKSAR Government has planned to double the number of smart food waste machines or food waste recycling bins in residential premises, and set up 100 food waste recycling mobile points and 100 food waste collection points at refuse collection points." Mr Tsui said that with the continuous expansion of the community recycling network and the introduction of various measures to facilitate the public's participation in food waste recycling, the recycling volume is expected to continue to rise.
Speed up the construction of facilities
In March this year, the second phase of the Organic Waste Recovery Centre in Sandy Ridge, New Territories, was commissioned, and together with the opening of the Lantau Island Organic Resources Recovery Centre Phase 1 and other facilities, Hong Kong's daily food waste processing capacity has been increased to 600 tonnes.
"It can process 300 tonnes of food waste per day, and in addition to the electricity generated for the park, it can also export up to 24 million kilowatt hours per year to the grid, which is equivalent to the electricity consumption of 5,000 households." According to the Assistant Director of Environmental Protection (Waste Infrastructure) of the HKSAR Government, Mr Lui Hok-leung, after the commissioning of the second phase of the Organic Resources Recovery Centre, some livestock waste originally disposed of in landfills can also be disposed of here, effectively alleviating the odour problem in landfills.
To build a complete resource recycling system, downstream processing capacity is crucial. According to the Secretary for Environment and Ecology of the HKSAR Government, Mr Tse Chin-wan, the HKSAR Government has given priority to two types of waste: first, waste with relatively large quantities, low recycling value and high recycling costs, such as waste plastics and food waste; The second is waste that contains harmful substances and will cause harm to the environment and human health, such as waste electrical and electronic products.
EcoPark in Tuen Mun is the first park in Hong Kong dedicated to the recycling industry, providing long-term land for recovery and recyclers at affordable rents and providing comprehensive supporting facilities to reduce the capital costs of recovery and recyclers in the park. The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Treatment and Recycling Facility, which was built to support the Producer Responsibility Scheme on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment, is located in the area.
In the 3,000-square-meter plant, the five processing lines in the "Waste Electrical and Electronic Products Treatment and Recycling Facility" are divided in an orderly manner. After a series of complex processes, waste electrical and electronic products such as refrigerators, air conditioners, and TVs are split into recyclable materials such as metals and plastics. As of March this year, the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Treatment and Recycling Facility has processed more than 130,000 tonnes of controlled waste electrical and electronic equipment, and repaired more than 8,200 pieces of electrical and electronic equipment that had been discarded and donated them to members of the public in need.
The Recycling Fund was established by the HKSAR Government in 2015 to assist the recycling industry in enhancing the overall operational capacity of the local recycling industry and to assist in upgrading and expanding its business. According to the Secretariat of the Recycling Fund, as at the end of March this year, the Fund had approved more than 2,500 applications with a total funding of about HK$800 million, processing a total of about 150,000 tonnes of recyclables.
"Hong Kong is making every effort to build a modern and efficient waste-to-energy facility, with the first phase of the Integrated Waste Management Facility (IRMF) to be commissioned in 2025 and the second phase of the Integrated Waste Management Facility (IRMF) in preparation. In line with the Government's ongoing efforts to reduce waste and recycle, Hong Kong is expected to achieve the Zero Waste to Landfill target by 2035. Xie Zhanhuan said.
Source: People's Daily Online
Release: Media Center for Integrity and Rule of Law
Audit: Discipline and Law Culture
Editor: Qing Gardenia