According to the survey, most residential buildings and shopping centres saw no difference in the amount of waste thrown out since the trial began, while restaurants, care homes and government premises recorded a reduction of 10 to 20 per cent.
Among the 14 pilot sites, restaurants and government buildings were mostly in full compliance when it came to using designated bags required by the management, while the utilisation rate at shopping centres was about 70 per cent.
But the rates for households were much lower, with the average utilisation rate at public and private residential buildings ranging from about 20 to 50 per cent. Utilisation rates at ‘three-nil’ buildings – those without maintenance companies, owners’ corporations or residents’ organisations managing them – stood at about 20 per cent.
“Many residents have reflected that the refuse collection charge is a nuisance to the public and some have said that the fee is too expensive, adding to their financial burden,” the paper read.
“They are worried that the legislation, when it comes into effect, will increase random littering.”
Respondents to the survey were particularly concerned about the potential hygiene problems in the city’s “three-nil” buildings.
Cleaners said dealing with rubbish not throw out in designated bags had added to their workload and expressed concerns about disputes with residents or inadvertent breaches of the law. A few added that they were considering changing jobs when the scheme was implemented.
Restaurateurs, businesses and care homes indicated that the programme would exert pressure on their operating costs and suggested that the design of large designated bags should be improved to avoid tears and spillage of refuse.
The government is expected to explain to lawmakers on Monday how the scheme will be refined upon reviewing the Environment and Ecology Bureau’s findings.
Meanwhile, a separate survey by the city’s largest political party, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB), found that most residents did not support the waste-charging scheme and about a third opposed the planned start date.
“The DAB has great reservations about the August 1 implementation of the waste-charging scheme and the party suggests the authorities postpone the levy,” one of the party’s legislators, Ben Chan Han-pan, said on Friday.
“We won’t set a date for the postponement [but] hope that the government can launch a large-scale recycling drive during the postponement and put relevant infrastructure in place. When these are done and [there is] a higher participation rate from the public, then we will review whether the charge is still necessary.”
The DAB’s phone survey of 1,560 randomly chosen respondents was conducted over two periods: April 5 to 11 and May 6 to 10. Among the respondents, 65 per cent said they did not support the waste-charging scheme, 33 per cent wanted it to be further postponed and 45 per cent felt it should not be implemented at all.
When asked whether the party’s comments meant that it wanted to overturn a bill that had already been passed, Chan was non-committal, saying the DAB was looking at the issue “from a more practical perspective”.
