Opinion | Lack of clarity sets up Hong Kong’s environmental plans for disaster
When it comes to managing our waste, Hong Kong has been a bit of a muddled mess for the past decade, and it looks likely to get worse in the coming months.
With hotels and restaurants set to face a ban in just three weeks on many single-use plastics and the controversial pay-as-you-throw waste charging scheme expected to launch in August, we could be set for a summer of confusion and controversy. When so many other parts of the world seem to be making much smoother progress, one has to ask why we are finding this essential shift to a low-carbon world so difficult.
Look at Germany, a global leader in managing waste, and the contrast with Hong Kong is striking. Germany creates more municipal waste per person than Hong Kong – 632kg per person compared with 551kg here – but the amount it dumps in landfills is negligible. Around 50 per cent is recycled, around 30 per cent incinerated and less than 1 per cent ends up in landfills.
It has succeeded not because it has dramatically slashed the levels of per-capita waste. Rather, progress has come because the government has got to grips with the waste chain, from effective separation of waste before it leaves a consumer’s home to creating an easy-to-understand waste disposal infrastructure that successfully diverts waste before it needs to reach a landfill.
By comparison, about 70 per cent of Hong Kong’s daily municipal waste of 5.74 million tonnes still ends up in landfills. There is little separation at home. The waste collection chain is confusing and often inconvenient. A muddle of “polluter pays” rules and private sector involvement has left us discarding as much waste today as we did half a decade ago.
Here in Asia, South Korea also puts us to shame. Per-capita waste has been brought down to 400kg per year. With about 60 per cent now recycled and 20 per cent incinerated, only about 11 per cent of their waste reaches the landfill.
Glass recycle bins in Berlin, Germany, are covered with prints of large faces wearing surgical face masks, seen in April 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic. Germany is a global leader in managing waste. Photo: EPA-EFE
My own suspicion is that our poor progress starts with a muddle over objectives. Elsewhere, the strategic rationale has been single-mindedly to cut waste. For many, this has been the only measure of progress. They have also acknowledged that management of waste is one of the most fundamental of municipal obligations.
As taxpayers, we know such services will ultimately have to be paid for out of our taxes. We simply ask for the infrastructure to be professionally built, efficient and to function as invisibly as possible. We in Hong Kong regard essential infrastructure as an inescapable responsibility of government. Where this iron rule has been bent – as in the case of electricity and our mass transit railway system – we have made it clear that we demand engineering excellence and very strong ground rules on performance obligations.
With waste management, we appear to have been left to drift in an obscure middle ground where the excellence and integrity of the infrastructure are not ensured and performance obligations are invisible.
Tinkering around with charges for variable garbage bag sizes imposes charges that are add-ons to the rates and taxes we already pay. Aren’t these rates and taxes intended to fund essential municipal services in the first place? In doing this, the government is not only causing upset and confusion but allowing itself to be distracted from the core challenge in hand: creating a system that deals seamlessly with the waste we create and setting regulations that incentivise us to minimise waste and pass it to our waste managers so they can handle it as efficiently as possible.
Sample designated bags for the waste charging scheme are seen at a promotional event held by a school in Hong Kong’s Yau Ma Tei district on January 16. The bags will be available in nine different sizes from three litres (0.79 gallons) up to 100 litres. Photo: Eugene Lee
There are other priorities. We should force suppliers – whether they are supermarkets or vendors of household goods – to deliver products that create the minimum environmental hassle. That means supermarkets not using plastic packaging or selling us water in bottles that we cannot return.
It means the companies that vie to sell us microwaves, smartphones or ceiling lights must agree to take them back – and promise to properly recycle them – once they fail or reach the end of their natural lives. This is basic “circular economy” stuff that we have talked about for decades but on which we have seen frustratingly little progress.
We should insist that developers – whether of residential high-rises, office towers or shopping centres – integrate essential waste separation facilities into their projects. These include composting infrastructure that consumes our food waste and rewards us with methane for heating and lush fertiliser for our flower beds and gardens.
Schools, universities and major event venues should have similar composting facilities to deal with food waste at the source. Mega-event organisers should be required to invest in similar waste-handling facilities, albeit on a temporary basis, as a precondition for arranging any event.
06:47
SCMP Explains: How does Hong Kong handle its waste?
SCMP Explains: How does Hong Kong handle its waste?
To ensure we have the critical mass of waste to justify heavy investment in incinerators and large-scale recycling hubs, we should be collaborating closely with our Greater Bay Area neighbours. A city of 7.3 million people might be too small to justify such big infrastructure items, but if we look at the regional community of 86 million people as a whole, we surely have the demand to justify the best waste management facilities that technology can deliver.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said last week that it was too early to judge whether his government’s controversial waste management plans should be delayed beyond August. My own answer would be clear: his present plans amount to shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic. Without greater strategic clarity, icebergs undoubtedly loom. A well-used delay might be a smart idea.
David Dodwell is CEO of the trade policy and international relations consultancy Strategic Access, focused on developments and challenges facing the Asia-Pacific over the past four decades
By Vietnam NewsMay 14, 2026 HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 14 May 2026 – On May 14, 2026, the Asia Link Cable (ALC) international submarine cable, led and constructed by China Telecom, has successfully landed at the Chung Hom Kok Cable Landing Station in Hong Kong, China. The successful landing marks a key milestone
A roadshow co-hosted by the Fujian Provincial Administration of Local Financial Regulation and Industrial Securities is underway in Hong Kong, on May 15, 2026. (PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY) Companies from Fujian province are looking to access superior capital and technological resources via the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to further expand their global footprint, according
Collections from Hong Kong’s M+ museum will be exhibited in Paris alongside those from Centre Pompidou in France under a five-year deal signed by the two institutions, which also covers research and talent exchange. The memorandum of understanding for a multi-year strategic partnership was signed on Friday by Suhanya Raffel, M+ director, and Laurent Le
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has lauded the resilience of Hong Kong’s economy, noting a sustained recovery despite economic activity having yet to return to pre-Covid levels, while warning of downside risks stemming from escalating geopolitical tensions. It also urged Hong Kong to pursue medium-term financial reforms, including the introduction of a goods and services
The Hong Kong government’s first land sale in the current financial year has drawn six bids, according to the Development Bureau, including those from the city’s largest developers, suggesting a more confident outlook for the residential property market. At the close of tender for Tung Chung Town Lot No 54 at Area 106A on Friday
A Hong Kong property developer has been sued for HK$130 million (US$16.6 million) over allegedly breaching guarantor obligations in two bond subscription agreements, becoming the latest lawsuit to implicate the embattled company and following its founder’s sudden death earlier this week. Lofter Group, known for its urban renewal projects across the city’s core districts, and
Spectators cheer during the Hong Kong Sevens rugby tournament at the Kai Tak Stadium on April 19, 2026. (ANDY CHONG / CHINA DAILY) HONG KONG – Hong Kong recorded about 18.52 million visitor arrivals in the first four months of 2026, up 15 percent year-on-year, data from the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) showed on
Hong Kong must move beyond its traditional role as a “superconnector” and reposition itself as a “super value-adder”, a leading think tank has said, urging the city to strengthen its role in global supply chains and align with national development amid geopolitical and technological shifts. In a 216-page report released on Friday, the 2022 Foundation
A man who previously represented residents of fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po has been arrested, along with his wife, on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud and money laundering, the South China Morning Post has learned. Sources familiar with the matter said Jason Kong Cheung-fat, a director of Ace Interior Design & Engineering Company
The local media should contribute to “telling the ‘good stories of Hong Kong’” amid global turbulence as the city formulates its first five-year blueprint to align with national development, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has said. Speaking at an annual award ceremony organised by the Newspaper Society of Hong Kong on Friday, Lee said the
The number of tourist arrivals in Hong Kong grew 10 per cent year on year in April, bolstered by the city’s annual Sevens rugby tournament. The Tourism Board revealed on Friday that the city welcomed 4.21 million visitors in April, taking the total in the first four months to 18.52 million – a 15 per
A 29-year-old Hong Kong man died of misadventure linked to a rare complication following a gastroscopy at a public hospital two years ago, a death inquest has found. The Coroner’s Court on Friday ruled that Lui Pak-to died of cerebral oedema, or brain swelling, triggered by the procedure at Queen Mary Hospital on February 29,
Hong Kong residents can enjoy an 11-day-long holiday over the Easter and Ching Ming holidays in 2027 by applying for only four days of leave, according to the list of official public holidays released by authorities. The Hong Kong government on Friday gazetted the dates for public holidays in 2027, with residents enjoying at least
Hong Kong’s privacy watchdog has condemned the owner of an education platform for paying a ransom to hackers who stole individuals’ personal data across 9,000 institutions worldwide, arguing that the money should have been spent on strengthening cybersecurity. Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data Ada Chung Lai-ling on Friday also questioned whether the hackers had truly
Turnover soars as Cathay takes off By Jerry Norton This article was first published on May 16, 1986 Cathay Pacific Airways had a memorable take-off in the stock market yesterday, accounting for a massive $446 million worth of turnover, more than the combined value of all other shares traded. The action in the rest of
A 70-year-old woman has died in a fire at a Hong Kong flat, with police suspecting it was caused by a malfunctioning air-conditioner. The blaze broke out at Yu Tung Court’s Hei Tung House in Tung Chung on Friday, with police saying they received reports from several residents at around 4.42am. “A woman was certified
Hong Kong is in a unique position to capitalise on yacht tourism – with over 1,000km of coastline and more than 200 islands, this natural advantage is something few international cities can match. Recent policy initiatives, ranging from new mooring developments to cross-boundary integration within the Greater Bay Area, signal the government’s clear intent to
Long lines stretching across several blocks have formed in Hong Kong as shoppers turned up days ahead of the launch of the “Royal Pop” pocket watches – a collaboration between luxury watchmaker Audemars Piguet and Swatch. A South China Morning Post reporter observed about 50 people queuing in Causeway Bay on Thursday evening, a few
Capturing a New Gold Era by Transforming Market Volatility into Potential Option Premium Income HONG KONG, May 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Mirae Asset Global Investments (Hong Kong) Limited (“Mirae Asset (Hong Kong)”), through its Global X ETFs brand, is pleased to announce the launch of the Global X Gold Covered Call Active ETF (the “Fund”,
Hong Kong police arrested a driver after his truck hit a parked vehicle and killed a worker on a closed section of the Cheung Tsing Highway in Tsing Yi in an accident that also left five others, including four South Korean tourists, injured on Thursday. A source said that the accident happened at around 5.10pm
