Hong Kong’s municipal solid waste levels at landfills fell to 3.85 million tonnes in 2024, marking three straight years of declines, but green groups have warned the trend could be short-lived following last year’s shelving of a controversial waste-charging scheme.
The latest figures from authorities on Monday also showed the average daily quantity of waste going to landfills was 10,510 tonnes, representing a 3.4 per cent decrease from 10,884 tonnes in 2023.
Meanwhile, the amount of plastic waste declined by 11.1 per cent year on year, according to the government.
Steven Chan Wing-kit, assistant environmental affairs manager at The Green Earth, a local NGO, said the drop was probably due to public awareness generated by last year’s controversy over the now-shelved “pay-as-you-throw” scheme.
“Comparing these figures with those from the pandemic era is not reasonable, and the drop [in 2024] likely reflects a temporary spike in public awareness triggered by the debate over the waste-charging scheme,” he said.
Chan added that the government needed to find ways to sustain public awareness and motivate residents to reduce their waste.
















