Household Rubbish Charging Scheme Approved By Legco

Lawmakers have approved the government's plan to charge households for their rubbish disposal, based on the amount they throw away.

The move has been years in the planning and on Thursday the relevant bill was backed by 37 lawmakers and opposed by one.

The government says it expects it will be around 18 months before people have to start paying for special bags to throw their rubbish away in.

The bags will come in various sizes, with a 10-litre bag to cost HK$1.1 and a 15-litre bag to cost HK$1.7.

Preparation work over the next year and a half will include boosting recycling facilities and promoting the scheme, officials said.

"Implementing the waste charging is a very challenging task, we need the cooperation of all in the community," Environment Secretary Wong Kam-sing told lawmakers.

Wong said families on low incomes will be given government help to pay for the bags.

The bill was first put to Legco in 2018 and Liberal Party lawmaker Frankie Yick, who chaired a bills committee on the matter, said he was glad to see it has finally been approved.

"This is what the whole Hong Kong is looking for," Yick said.

"I believe Hong Kong people do have the desire to minimise all this solid waste," he said, adding that it is important for the government to educate people on how to do it correctly.