‘No clue’: Hong Kong district councillor, environmentalist say frontline workers, residents ‘unprepared’ for April 1 trial run of waste-charging scheme
- Eastern district councillor Lam Wing-shing raises concerns about short notice, says trial run has caught residents by surprise
- ‘The additional step of waste sorting and recording data … is likely to overwhelm the workers,’ he adds
Hong Kong frontline workers and residents are “unprepared” for a trial run of a controversial pay-as-you-throw scheme set for next week, a district councillor and an environmentalist have said, citing the short notice and insufficient information.
Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan, meanwhile, told lawmakers on Monday that the government would keep an open mind on whether the charging scheme should be further revised or delayed after the trial results.
At the Legislative Council environmental affairs panel meeting, Tse was under pressure from lawmakers who said many residents were still unprepared and that there were still many concerns ahead of the launch time in August.
Tse stressed that while the government had no plans to further delay the scheme at this stage, it would decide the next step by June after the trial run.
“If adjustment is needed, more coordination is required, or big changes [to the scheme] might be needed, we keep an open mind and will decide the next step after assessing the overall results of the [trial run],” he said.
Authorities earlier said the trial run of the already delayed waste-charging scheme would be launched on April 1 and would cover only 14 premises. Among the locations are a government office block and two public residential buildings, including Lin Tsui Estate in Chai Wan.
The government is expected to provide all selected premises with designated rubbish bags and labels free of charge during the period, as well as collect operational data.
Eastern district councillor Lam Wing-shing raised concerns on Monday over the short notices given by the government.
“The residents I approached have no clue what the trial is all about despite last Friday’s announcement,” Lam told a radio programme.
He said the trial had caught residents by surprise, which made it challenging for them to adapt quickly. Cleaners were also concerned they might not be able to get familiar with the additional steps in time.
Lam added the estate had done some preparations for the trial, such as posting notices, training staff for waste sorting, using the designated bags and recording data, but did not ramp up frontline manpower.
“The regular cleaning duties are already quite demanding,” Lam said.
“The additional step of waste sorting and recording data for the Environmental Protection Department is likely to overwhelm the workers, potentially having an impact on the property management and the quality of the cleaning services.”
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The 14 locations also included two shopping malls, four eateries and two private blocks in Sham Shui Po, which do not have owner corporations or property management companies.
At the panel meeting, some lawmakers also questioned if the scale of the trial run would be too small to allow the collection of representative data.
Tse argued the scale was suitable as it could allow the government to review the various arrangements and problems that might arise during the implementation of the scheme.
The West Kowloon Government Offices is the only official complex on the list, covering about 2,500 employees from eight departments. There is no office of the Environmental Protection Department or the Environment and Ecology Bureau there.
Executive director Edwin Lau Che-feng of NGO Green Earth told the same show that the trial was not comprehensive or representative enough as it did not include schools, exhibition venues or hotels.
“It is not ideal that the Environmental Bureau and Environmental Protection Department, located at the government complex, are not taking the initiative to demonstrate and instil confidence in other departments and residents,” Lau said.
He added the property management industry had raised concerns about how the cleaners should handle situations when residents did not use the designated bags.
Designated rubbish bags – priced between 30 HK cents and HK$11 (US$1.4) depending on the size – will become mandatory in August when residents throw out rubbish.
“But in the trial, those designated bags are still distributed for free, and residents do not have to pay for them. It’s difficult to test and address non-compliance issues during the trial,” he noted.
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“When these issues arise during the trial, it is necessary for the government and property management to determine how to handle them to achieve waste reduction and comply with legal requirements effectively,” Lau stressed.
Thomas Woo Chu, managing director of the Hsin Kuang Restaurant group, said the government invited them to participate in the trial to better understand the daily operational needs of eateries in terms of the number of designated bags required.
He added the cost of purchasing designated plastic bags would inevitably be passed on to diners.
The waste-charging scheme has been delayed to August after Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu decided that a postponement was needed to better promote the scheme amid public confusion.
