Environment minister Tse Chin-wan on Sunday said the government has no immediate plans to cut the number of garbage bins on the city’s streets right when the “pay-as-you-throw” scheme takes effect.
“We think that we should do things step by step, and there is no need to rush. If we take away all the garbage bins when people haven’t changed their habits, it would be very hard for them,” Tse told an RTHK programme.
“When it comes to environment protection, we must do it step by step. We will change people’s habits first and develop a habit of waste reduction and recycling. When the appropriate time comes, we will slowly reduce the number of garbage bins on the streets.”
The scheme, which has been delayed twice, is scheduled to come into effect in August, with a trial to begin on Monday at 14 locations. But the Environment and Ecology Bureau, which is responsible for the policy, is excluded from the test run.
Tse said rubbish from the Central Government Offices in Admiralty, where the bureau was stationed, was charged based on weight.
“If everyone in Hong Kong was charged [according to weight], it would be convenient. But it would not be so easy to achieve an effect, which is to encourage people to pay as they throw,” he said.
“If we use [designated] bags, an individual with more trash [they] will have to buy more bags, one with less trash can purchase less bags. When we link the amount of garbage to the bags, there will be more of an incentive [to reduce waste].”
Deputy Chief Secretary Warner Cheuk, who is leading an inter-departmental working group on the scheme, said the authorities will assess the trial before deciding the way forward for the policy.
“[The working group] will take a comprehensive look at this trial, because there are a lot of aspects for us to monitor, such as people’s participation, their understanding and acceptance of the scheme, and the amount of garbage and recyclables,” Cheuk said.
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