If Hongkongers were asked whether they would be willing to pay for disposal of their household waste based on quantity, most would probably say no. They would say the taxes collected by the government should include basic services like waste disposal. The first public consultation for waste charging was conducted by the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) in early 2012, and 63 per cent of the written submissions supported quantity-based waste charging.
In September 2013, the Council for Sustainable Development launched the second phase of public engagement to better understand public views on the relevant operational details. The results and recommendations were published in 2014 and submitted to the Legislative Council in early 2015. This led to a working group consisting of senior officials from the EPD, Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, Housing Department and Home Affairs Department, with the objective of steering and coordinating the preparation work for the waste-charging scheme.
If this group had done its work properly, many of the problems we face today would not exist. 06:47 SCMP Explains: How does Hong Kong handle its waste? A six-month pilot scheme involving seven residential estates was organised by the EPD back in April 2014, to collect waste disposal data and views from participating residents. Instead, Hongkongers are now being asked to accept waste charging while anticipating different hurdles when the scheme kicks in.
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