The refuse levy has been postponed to August this year, and the Hong Kong government has been encouraging the use of smart recycling bins to collect household food waste. However, according to the records of the Environment and Ecology Bureau, as of the middle of this month, only 449 smart food waste recycling bins have been provided in Hong Kong, serving about 1,000 buildings, and there are no food waste recycling bins in any private housing estates in the six districts of Central and Western District, Wan Chai, Southern District, Yau Tsim Mong, Sham Shui Po and Tai Po, among which Wan Chai District and Yau Tsim Mong District do not have smart food waste recycling bins at all.
DAB Legislator Leung Hei suggested that the Hong Kong government should publicize large-scale housing estates to let property management companies and property owners know that they can apply for the EPD's relevant funds to set up food waste recycling bins.
There are no smart food waste recycling bins in Wan Chai and Yau Tsim Mong districts
In reply to a Legislative Council member's enquiry, Tse said that about 30 per cent of the solid waste produced in Hong Kong every day was food waste. To help the public reduce food waste, the EPD is progressively installing smart food waste recycling bins in public housing estates across the territory, and encouraging public participation through the provision of GREEN$ e-Bonus points. For private housing estates, the EPD will assist private residential buildings to install smart recycling bins for food waste collection through the Recycling Fund and the Environment and Conservation Fund.
According to the authorities' figures, there are no food waste recycling bins in any private housing estates in the six districts of Central and Western District, Wan Chai, Southern District, Yau Tsim Mong, Sham Shui Po and Tai Po, and none of the districts in Wan Chai District and Yau Tsim Mong District have smart food waste recycling bins. The area with the largest number of recycling bins is Sha Tin District with 62 bins.
Hong Kong Government: More than 700 smart food waste recycling bins will be in service by the end of this year
Tse said that the EPD, in collaboration with the Housing Department and the Housing Society, is working at full speed to extend the smart food waste recycling service to all public housing estates in Hong Kong, and it is expected that more than 700 smart food waste recycling bins will be put into service by the end of this year. He also pointed out that it is expected that about 100 smart food waste recycling bins will be installed in 30 more private housing estates and three villages before the Lunar New Year. The Pilot Scheme on Smart Food Waste Recycling Bins for Private Housing Estates, launched by the Environmental Campaign Committee at the end of last year, is expected to approve about 15 to 20 applications for housing estates involving about 120 smart food waste recycling bins this year. As of mid-month, a total of 6 applications had been received.
Leung Hei of DAB said that at the current rate, when the refuse levy was implemented in August, it is expected that many public housing estates will not yet have smart food waste recycling services, and each food waste machine can only handle about 20 households, so it is worried that it will be far from the demand. He believes that the Hong Kong government is solely responsible for the establishment of food waste recycling bins in public housing estates, and believes that the speed can be accelerated, and suggests that the Hong Kong government should go to large housing estates to publicize the establishment of food waste recycling bins in property management companies and property owners, so that property management companies and property owners can apply for the relevant funds of the Environmental Protection Department to set up food waste recycling bins, and in the future, mobile recycling points should also be increased to serve small and medium-sized housing estates.