Govt Proposes Recycling Levy For Plastic Bottles

The government on Monday proposed a new recycling levy for businesses that manufacture or import plastic drinks bottles as part of its strategy to reduce the amount of waste in Hong Kong.

It says under the ‘polluter pays’ principle, manufacturers and importers should pay between five and 30 cents per bottle to help pay for the costs of collecting and recycling empty bottles.

At the same time, the government is also suggesting that rebates be given to people who return bottles for recycling, as an added incentive.

The Environmental Protection Department is also setting up more ‘reverse vending machines’ across the territory where people can get 10 cents back for every plastic bottle they return.

Members of the public will have until May 21 to respond to a public consultation on the issue.

Paul Zimmerman, who chairs a coalition of beverage industry stakeholders called Drink Without Waste, welcomed the initiative.

“We’d love to see legislation as soon as possible for a producer responsibility scheme,” he said.

Zimmerman said if the government can set up a proper recycling system that can gain public confidence, the scheme should be effective in encouraging more people to recycle.

“The community has lost trust in the three-colour bin,” he said, “so we have to regain the trust, so if you get these drop points to be well-managed, make sure that we have the right company come collect them, ending up at the right recycling point… then we can get at least 40 percent of the materials back.”

He said if people can get rebates of at least five cents per bottle, hundreds of thousands of recyclers and cleaners would also participate, adding another 30 percent to the amount of plastic bottles recycled.

“If on top of that, we’re also going to get some [more] reverse vending machines at some locations, then that will attract another audience.”