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A worker transfers recycled plastic bottles to a bale breaker at New Life Plastics’ facility at EcoPark at Tuen Mun on September 6, 2022. The plant ceased operations in April after consistently running well below capacity because there were not enough plastic bottles to recycle. Photo: K.Y. Cheng
Opinion
Christopher Tang
Christopher Tang

How Hong Kong can win its war on plastic waste and revive ailing recycling industry

  • New Life Plastics ceasing operations because of a lack of plastic bottles shows how far Hong Kong has to go in promoting recycling
  • Reducing use, providing better incentives to recycle, and making recycling easier for everyone will help the city do its part to save the environment
Christopher Tang
Christopher Tang
Why you can trust SCMP

It’s past time for the Hong Kong government to rethink its strategy in reducing plastic use and increasing the amount recycled.

It is both shocking and disappointing that New Life Plastics – Hong Kong’s largest and only recycling plant capable of turning recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic bottles into food-grade plastic flakes for remanufacturing PET plastic products – had to suspend its operations in April, just 16 months after it began in Tun Mun’s EcoPark.
As a catalyst for change in the plastic bottle circular economy in Hong Kong, the firm was developed to process 1,800 tonnes of plastic bottles per month. However, it was only operating at 30 per cent capacity because it was unable to receive enough recycled plastic bottles to process.

Its business operations were not financially viable because the plastic bottle recycle rate in Hong Kong is absurdly low. In 2019, less than 1 per cent of PET plastic bottles were recycled. Consequently, about 121 tonnes of recyclable plastic ended up in a landfill on a daily basis.

We can learn from others to develop effective ways to reduce and recycle plastic waste. First, we must find ways to reduce the use of plastic bags and plastic bottles.

06:47

SCMP Explains: How does Hong Kong handle its waste?

SCMP Explains: How does Hong Kong handle its waste?

In 2021, San Francisco International Airport introduced its plastic-free policy to prohibit the sale of products in plastic bottles. Since last year, all newly built public schools in California must provide water refilling stations so people can fill their own aluminium or glass bottles.

It is encouraging that the Council for Sustainable Development recommended in 2022 that Hong Kong should increase the plastic shopping bag levy from 50 HK cents to HK$1 or HK$2 (13 US cents to 26 US cents). However, this levy is too low.
Second, Hong Kong must increase the recycling rate for plastic bottles. The current low rate is due to a lack of incentives for consumers to return their bottles.
Unlike other economies, Hong Kong lacks a deposit-return scheme, in which consumers pay a small fee when buying a bottled drink and get it back when they return the empty container. As used PET bottles and liquid cartons carry almost zero value in Hong Kong, collectors tend to prefer more “valuable” recyclable rubbish such as paper and metals.

Currently, there is no financial incentive to send plastic bottles to processing plants. A 2020 investigation found that nearly two-thirds of housing estates surveyed were sending plastic bottles collected in recycling bins to landfills.

To develop the incentives needed to increase plastic bottle recycling, the Environmental Protection Department launched a public consultation in 2021 which included a 10 HK cent refund for plastic bottles returned to designated points or reverse vending machines. It also proposed a levy of up to 65 cents per 500ml container on drink suppliers to finance the scheme.

A deposit-return scheme is a must, but 10 HK cents is too low. The Global Deposit Book 2022 suggests that a minimum deposit of 7 to 9 US cents, or about 55 to 70 HK cents, is needed to provide enough incentive to achieve a median return rate of 75 per cent.

The Hong Kong government should also impose an environmental tax on plastic producers. These tax dollars could be used to support the development of recycling infrastructure and efficient sorting and processing of plastic waste. Such a scheme can help generate a collective effort in Hong Kong to increase plastic recycling as a community.
Single-use takeaway containers and plastic bottles are among the rubbish piled up at a “Happy Hong Kong” Gourmet Marketplace at the Kwun Tong harbourfront on June 4. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Third, Hong Kong must create enough collection points and reverse vending machines across the city to create consumer awareness and participation. Given that there are around 2,000 drinks vending machines in Hong Kong, installing reverse vending machines next to them could help consumers make plastic bottle recycling a habit.

Hong Kong also needs more recycling bins to make it easier for people to recycle plastic bottles, and better public education and awareness on recycling, such as reminding consumes to rinse bottles before returning them.

It is challenging to change consumer habits, but the government can develop policies that nudge the public to save our environment as a community. We must do our part to save the Earth before it is too late.

Christopher Tang is a distinguished professor at the UCLA Anderson School of Management

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