Japan is renowned for its meticulous waste sorting system, which enforces strict laws and public education to ensure compliance, requiring residents to use transparent bags and adhere to detailed disposal schedules.

South Korea has achieved an 80% recycling rate for plastic bottles through a Producer Responsibility Scheme that includes financial incentives, public education, and a Pigouvian tax system.

Finland exemplifies success with a 99% recycling rate for household waste, driven by advanced technologies, government collaboration, and citizen participation.

Singapore’s centralized waste management system achieves a 51.7% recycling rate by integrating incineration plants and meticulous waste classification.

The Netherlands employs infrared scanning technology at sorting plants to efficiently separate recyclables, minimizing landfill use and enhancing energy recovery.

Taiwan’s innovative systems, such as designated garbage bags and mobile recycling trucks, foster community participation and strict adherence to sorting rules.

Germany’s circular economy model integrates green technology and extended producer responsibility, achieving a 70% recycling rate and reducing raw material consumption.

Public education campaigns in South Korea and Singapore highlight the critical role of awareness in fostering recycling habits and reducing contamination rates.

Countries like Costa Rica and Taiwan incentivize recycling through programs such as eco-coins and reusable systems, promoting sustainable practices.

These global practices demonstrate the importance of government policies, advanced technologies, and public engagement in achieving high recycling rates.

Japan is renowned for its meticulous waste sorting system, which enforces strict laws and public education to ensure compliance, requiring residents to use transparent bags and adhere to detailed disposal schedules.

Title:

Content: Waste Levy ｜ Japan has been a model for decades, Okinawa Hong Kong families share the key to success
Author: Law Baoxi
Published: Updated:
“I remember the first time we dropped garbage out of the streets in Japan, our family watched the whole process to see if our garbage was successfully handled, and finally the garbage truck was recycled. We clapped our hands, ” Oki-Family, a Hong Kong resident in Okinawa, told reporters.
Japan's waste levy and recycling has been implemented for many years, and the local domestic waste treatment, recycling and classification are very perfect, and recycling accounts for 20%.
It can be said that the relevant policies have long been integrated into the ordinary life of the Japanese people and become the local way of life.
If Hong Kong is about to introduce a waste levy, what can we learn from Japan?
This is part of the "Garbage Levy, How to Do It in a Foreign Country?" series.
Oki-Family, a family of three who have lived in Japan for eight years, now lives in Toyomi City, Okinawa Prefecture. The couple, Leung Sheng and Leung, recently shared with Hong Kong 01 the situation of local waste levies and recycling.
“There are many cities in Okinawa, and each city has its own system, so every time you move, you have to adapt and get used to it. ”
At present, our family mainly uses the largest garbage bag, which costs about 20 yen (more than HK $1.03) a.
The average monthly amount spent on waste collection and recycling is about 300 yen (over HK $16), "he said.
There are different waste management and recycling regulations in Japan. Levy standards vary from prefecture to city. According to Leung, Japan ’ s waste classification is much more complex than Hong Kong ’ s. It is divided into general waste, large waste and kitchen waste. newspaper and cardboard separately), etc.
For large garbage, such as mattresses and other items that cannot be placed in garbage bags, you need to purchase a sticker of about 300 yen (about HK $15.5) at a convenience store and paste it on the garbage that needs to be disposed of.
Other cities have the same treatment, but the amount may vary.
Oki-Family, a Hong Kong resident family in Okinawa, shared with reporters the complicated garbage sorting situation in Japan. (Provided by respondents)
Since most places implement self-paid waste levies, sorting and recycling has long been a “compulsory lesson ” for Japanese residents.
Every night, after dinner, their family will take the garbage outside the back door of the home, where a can be put on the garbage can; they also placed a large plastic box there to store the recycling garbage, such as fork batteries, glass bottles, soda cans, plastic bottles, etc., stored enough will be taken out.
On Tuesdays and Fridays, combustible waste is collected, soda cans are collected on Wednesdays, glass bottles and newspapers are collected on Saturdays.
Although the combustible waste contained in kitchen waste is collected only twice a week, there are few cases in the area where it stinks and affects environmental hygiene. “There are scents on the garbage cans in Japan that can suppress the smell, and I did try to have a slight effect, ” Leung explained.
And my own method is to put it outside the back door, because the position has been blowing for a long time, and it is almost impossible to smell without opening the lid. "
Over 70 years of off-the-shelf garbage sorting
In the 1950s, Japan entered a period of rapid economic growth, people's living standards have been significantly improved, and the amount of garbage has also increased sharply, and the phenomenon of littering can be seen everywhere, and environmental problems have become severe.
Later, the Japanese government took advantage of the opportunity of the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games to launch a "capital beautification campaign" to awaken the people's awareness of environmental protection.
However, in the 1970s, local citizens protested the landfill site selection, and began to take actions to stop garbage trucks, and the protest lasted for eight years.
Until the 1980s, Japan began to carry out simple garbage sorting, and after decades of development, garbage sorting has become a standardized, systematic way of life.
As for the garbage levy scheme, Japan was introduced in the 1970s. In 2019, a total of 1,094 garbage charges were implemented in 1,741 cities, towns and villages across the country, with an implementation rate of 62.8%; among them, the urban rate was lower, only 56.2%.
However, Japan's domestic waste recycling is basically the responsibility of local governments, so different cities in the waste separation and treatment charges are not the same.
For example, in order to reduce and recycle the amount of garbage increasing year by year, local garbage is divided into five categories: "combustible garbage", "non-combustible garbage", "hazardous garbage", "resource garbage" and "large garbage". The first four categories have designated garbage bags, and large garbage has related "treatment coupons", which can be purchased at general convenience stores.
All kinds of paper (newspapers, magazines, cardboard, milk cartons) need to be tied into a cross shape with a paper rope.
All refuse should be disposed of by members of the public before 8.30 am on a specified date.
If the Government wants the public to follow suit, the most important thing is to make things convenient for them, and everything should be convenient.
Oki-Family
Japan ’ s waste classification was first seen in the 1980s, and has developed over the decades to form a standardized and systematic way of life.
(Getty)
Fear of animals, care for neighbors, and...?
When she first arrived in Guijing, Liang Sheng said that she had long known that Japan had a policy of collecting and sorting garbage, so she was prepared psychologically.
When they first moved to Hong Kong to report to the local government department, they had received a relevant garbage instruction notice, "The average family will stick it in a prominent place, such as a refrigerator door or next to it, which is convenient to check when handling garbage daily."
After doing more, you will remember that you don ’ t have to look at it every time.
They added that the circular will also clearly state the arrangements for zoning, public holidays, special weather, special items, etc., which are basically very clear, and you can consult friends and neighbors if you do not understand.
They said that the charts provided by the authorities are detailed and clear, and it is not really difficult to follow them. "But the pictures may indicate that it is a certain type of garbage, but the details may indicate that some special circumstances will not be recycled."
The careful classification of this aspect, we still feel very troublesome at first. "
On the other hand, due to the different living environment and culture in Japan, there are other additional concerns about daily garbage disposal.
They remember the first time they dropped garbage out of the street, they heard friends say not to fall out of the street the night before, because there may be stray cats, crows and other garbage, there may be a chance to dirty the environment.
There is also garbage can not be taken out too early to remove, otherwise it may be scolded by neighbors. Liang Sheng Liang Tai admitted: "So in Japan, we have to be afraid of animals, we have to take care of our neighbors, and whether the garbage truck can finally be recycled after the garbage is sorted."
Japan is regarded as one of the most successful countries in the world in waste levying and recycling, winning in a zero-waste town. (Getty)
The best way to deal with batteries, soda cans and paper skins?
In addition, they also have to face the problem of garbage that can not be dropped.
They said: "The most troublesome is the battery, although some local appliance stores can recycle, but not all types, mainly the recycling of disposable batteries, but not the charging type.
In the end, they found information online, and learned that only a few electrical appliances stores in Naha can be recycled, but it is very inconvenient to drive to them, so they have been unable to abandon them for years, so they have to slowly store them at home and drive to a certain number of cars to deal with them.
What also makes them feel very annoying and very disturbing is the soda can and the paper skin. "In Hong Kong, these two kinds of waste are considered more valuable, and can be sold for a few pennies."
But in Japan, if you put a soda can in a plastic bag, they will not accept it, you have to buy a government-designated plastic bag.
They said: “The irony is that if you put it in a transparent plastic bag, there will be scavengers who will take it and sell it. ”
The Government will also appeal to households not to let waste pickers take them, as this is part of the income of waste collectors. "
Japanese newspapers and paper should be tied, even if only one piece, and tied with a paper rope, otherwise the workers will not recycle.
(Getty)
They continued: "From our point of view, why buy a plastic bag for garbage collectors, instead of having a plastic bag left in the home before, no more money to waste, and it is not better to help the environment and someone to recycle?"
"If the paper is put out, it will not be collected if it is not tied up, and if it is scattered, it will not be collected, but even if it is placed in a paper bag, they will say that it is not tied up."
Even if it is not a piece of paper, it will not be taken, and every time I hear it, it is very important. "
Keyword Success: Convenient
Although there are no penalties for garbage disposal in Japan, if garbage is not handled in accordance with the relevant guidelines, the relevant departments will not recycle the household's garbage and will indicate what is wrong on the household's garbage.
They said, "Not recycling is already a punishment, because you have to find a place to put this waste for another week."
However, they stressed, "Although the levies and recycling of local refuse may cause some inconvenience and trouble in daily life, environmental protection will be a blessing to the public if the Government is really able to do enough in handling waste from the environmental point of view."
After years of living in Japan, Oki-Family believes that the work of collecting and recycling waste is successful: “The most important thing is the education of the whole nation. They are supported by the government, businesses, and many large circles. ” Convenient."
Education is equally important, Mrs Leung added: “To make people feel that recycling from their urine is something they need to do and is part of their lives.
Naturally, more and more people will accept this. ” For example, their daughters will be taught classification from kindergarten, and simulation learning, teaching how to classify things, slowly making sorting garbage their instinct.
Liang Sheng-Liang of Oki-Family, a Japanese Hong Kong family, stressed that the policy focus is to enable every household to be hygienic when handling garbage, because the relevant garbage levy and recycling involve more than the purchase of plastic bags.
(courtesy of interviewees)
It's not about plastic bags. It's about hygiene.
On Hong Kong ’ s imminent introduction of a waste levy, Mrs Leung said: “The biggest resistance is that the Hong Kong government is too weak at present, and even if they do well or not, the public may not like it. ”
The second is the habit of the public, who stressed the need for the government to give the public a sufficient period of adaptation.
They cited Japan ’ s policy as an example. “The Japanese authorities generally give a relatively long period of adaptation, for example, we will later change to electronic signatures, and the government will give the public two years to get used to it. The transition period in Hong Kong may be relatively short in years. ”
Garbage levy is actually a big thing, including the promotion of education, the awareness of the public is very important, if they lack awareness, they will not follow suit.
But this is a work that takes a long time to do, and it is not possible to do it in a moment or three.
They believe that the Hong Kong government should provide some further information, such as tips, such as how to dispose of garbage at home will be more hygienic and save space, so that the public can understand the specific situation facing the actual operation.
In addition, it can also provide various types of garbage disposal equipment on the market, such as deodorants and scents that can be attached to garbage cans of various sizes.
Finally, they reiterate, “It ’ s important for every household to be hygienic when it comes to waste levies and recycling, which involves more than just buying plastic bags. ”
This may also be one of the reasons why many people are dissatisfied or worried about the proposed waste levy. "

South Korea has achieved an 80% recycling rate for plastic bottles through a Producer Responsibility Scheme that includes financial incentives, public education, and a Pigouvian tax system.

Title:

Content: Producer Responsibility System Waste Reduction Policy Package in Place
Comments ‧ World Situation 2022 / 08 / 06
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On average, more than 5 million plastic beverage bottles are disposed of in landfills in Hong Kong every day, reflecting the poor results of plastic reduction and recycling.
Under the long-term initiative of environmental organizations such as Green Earth, the environmental protection department is preparing to introduce relevant producer responsibility schemes (PRS) to respond.
In simple terms, PRS usually uses financial means, such as bottle fees and glass bottle levies, to induce "producers" such as manufacturers, retailers and even consumers to shoulder their due environmental responsibility.
Effective laws and regulations are indispensable to improve the industrial chain
PRS This waste management regulation is slightly different from the common pollution control regulations. To promote source waste reduction and recycling, effective regulations and the support of the entire recycling industry chain are indispensable.
First, the recycling industry chain, which includes high-coverage front-line collection points, large and small transport fleets, adequate recycling and recycling plants, a market for valuable recycled materials, and PRS system managers.
To promote the formation and effectiveness of the recycling industry chain, we must first have "smart" regulations, in which the setting of ambitious recycling targets, attractive economic incentives (such as refunds by bottle or bottle), and a reward and punishment mechanism for manufacturers are all key elements.
For example, the EPD recently proposed that each plastic bottle should be given a refund of at least one dime, hoping to achieve a recovery rate of 40% in the first year and 75% in five years.
Is there a “tooth ” for this purpose?
Hong Kong 's plastic recycling performance is poor PRS International
Green Earth analyzed a number of countries and regions that use PRS to manage beverage containers, and concluded that the average refund amount for each plastic bottle is more than HK $1, which is 10 times less than the corner of Hong Kong.
As for the average recovery rate target for the first year of PRS, the international average is above 70%, of which 80% in South Korea in Asia and 90% in the three Nordic countries are high; even if the target is lower, Lithuania and Slovakia are also 55% and 60% respectively, which are much more positive than Hong Kong's 40%.
The reason why PRS is called producer responsibility, the key word is the word "producer", which means that this stakeholder is responsible.
I would like to remind the environmental protection department that the recycling responsibilities of manufacturers and importers must not be missed.
The most direct approach is to set up an adequate reward and punishment mechanism to ensure that if the manufacturer fails to meet the recycling target, it must bear the responsibility, so that it can be matched with the "responsibility system".
Set up incentive mechanism to encourage manufacturers to respond positively
South Korea, a model student of high plastic bottle recycling, has adopted the Pigouvian Tax: if the market fails to meet the 80% recycling target, producers, importers and PRS system administrators have to pay the corresponding punitive tax on a proportional basis.
The author also believes that, in fairness, if the recycling rate exceeds the target, or the market adopts a considerable plastic reduction package (such as naked buy, reuse container sales), there should be corresponding incentives to promote the positive response of manufacturers and create a source of plastic reduction culture.
At a time when the Government has not yet submitted the PRS Bill to the Legislative Council, the Legislative Council (especially the Panel on Environmental Affairs) has the responsibility to monitor the quality of the policy and request the Administration to respond positively to the following key points:
1. Disclose the results of the EPD ’ s 2021 plastic bottle public consultation, including supporting the proportion of different refund amounts;
2. Keep up with the international standard, the minimum refund amount should start at HK $1;
Third, update the recovery rate target: 70% in the first year of policy implementation, and increase to 90% in three years;
Fourth, set up a review mechanism: if the recycling target is not reached within the deadline, then increase the legal minimum amount of refunded bottles, increase the economic incentive; at the same time, compared with the Piguet tax, manufacturers, importers, PRS system managers must be jointly responsible for the failure to meet the target.
Author: Liu Zhaolang Senior Project Director, Green Earth
Column name: GREEN FORUM
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Finland exemplifies success with a 99% recycling rate for household waste, driven by advanced technologies, government collaboration, and citizen participation.

Title:

Content: Ukraine will deepen cooperation with Finland in the direction of household waste management.
According to the press service of the Ministry of Regional Development, this was announced by the Minister of Communities and Territories Alexey Chernyshov during a meeting with the Ambassador of the Republic of Finland to Ukraine Päivi Laine.
It is noted that in Finland, only 1% of waste ends up in landfills, the vast majority is recycled.
This is the result of the interaction of the central and local authorities, as well as the awareness of citizens
Ukraine is also planning to adopt this experience.
“Finland is a country that demonstrates high standards of environmental waste management.
Almost all the citizens of this country sort the garbage.
As a result, 99% of household waste is recycled.
This experience will be useful for Ukraine.
So, a similar process is already underway in hromadas - in 1725 settlements of our state, a separate collection of household waste has been introduced.
But it is necessary to scale this direction and introduce useful practices of international partners in the country, "Chernyshov said.
Read alsoIn the Odessa region on the Danube, the dam is destroyed - under it meter voids In the press service reminded that thanks to the implementation of separate collection of garbage in 2020, about 6.3% of household waste was recycled and disposed of in Ukraine.
In turn, Laine noted that Finland is ready to share experience and help Ukrainian communities to implement waste processing projects.
“We also have companies that recycle waste into energy.
In such a comprehensive way, we improve the ecology of our country, ” she added.
Waste recycling in Ukraine
As UNIAN reported, in July 2020, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted in the first reading the draft law No. 2207-1-d “On waste management ”.
The document establishes the procedure for the collection, removal and treatment of waste, ensures the introduction of their separate collection and recycling, provides for the requirements for the quality of the provision of waste management services and the charging of fees for such a service.

Singapore’s centralized waste management system achieves a 51.7% recycling rate by integrating incineration plants and meticulous waste classification.

Title:

Content: Hong Kong ’ s slow progress in environmental governance – why not look at the Greater Bay Area and the world?
Author: Liu Mengting
Published: Updated:
In 2005, the SAR Government proposed to develop a recycling economy, that is, to reduce the environmental burden by repairing, recycling and extending the service life of materials, to find a way out for recycling recyclable materials, and to promote the development of related industries and promote economic diversification.
However, more than a decade later, Hong Kong ’ s circular economy has not made much progress.
In this regard, some scholars suggest leveraging the advantages of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
At the same time, Hong Kong ’ s waste management policy is not yet climate, and we must match the experience of “top students ” such as Korea, Taiwan and Singapore.
Circular Economy Enemies the Greater Bay Area
Professor Patrick Poon, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, has been developing a patented technology for converting waste glass into environmentally friendly bricks since the 1990s, with a view to improving the recycling efficiency of waste glass.
Green brick is a kind of concrete brick, can effectively use construction waste and waste glass, the third generation of green brick has been put into the market as paving brick.
For more than 20 years, the technology has been optimized by scholars to the fifth generation, but it is still “technology without market ”.
In an interview with "Hong Kong 01" recently, Poon mentioned the two main reasons why the development of the local green brick industry is hindered, which is also the dilemma faced by Hong Kong's circular economy.
Pan Chih-sheng says that the research on green bricks has been successful, but the price is not competitive. (photo by O'Cara)
One of the main reasons is that local manufacturing has caused the high enterprise products to lose market advantage. Poon analysis, because the whole production process of environmentally friendly bricks produced in Hong Kong is completed in Hong Kong, and the land price and labor in Hong Kong are very high, and the price has also risen with the water. It is necessary to open up the market to achieve maximum trade liberalization, so the possibility of contractors choosing Hong Kong materials for profit considerations is very low.
On the other hand, the Hong Kong government has not introduced relevant policies to require the actual use of environmentally friendly materials, in the absence of just the premise, the market share of environmentally friendly bricks is unstable, and the current use of the third generation of environmentally friendly bricks is about 20% more expensive than natural sand bricks, so the project side may not consider the use of environmentally friendly bricks.
Another major obstacle is that the government did not help. Pan Zhisheng pointed out that environmental protection bricks are made of recycled materials, although the quality and performance of the bricks are not lost to natural sand and stone, but the quality difference is greater.
However, according to the existing government regulations, the two are regarded as the same, that is, the quality of environmentally friendly materials is too high, but it may still be regarded as unqualified due to the degree of quality difference. This single regulation is a constraint for the application of environmentally friendly bricks. If the outlook does not improve, it will be more difficult to attract investors.
Under such a vicious cycle, the government has no intention to invest or give support, and the environmental protection brick industry chain has become a dead end.
The recycling rate of local waste in Hong Kong is low, and exports are facing many restrictions.
In an interview with Hong Kong 01, Wong Woon-chung, director of the Johan Centre for Applied Forestry Research in the Pearl River Delta (PRD), Hong Kong Baptist University, pointed out that the land resources in Hong Kong are tight, such as the opening of a recycling plant for recycled materials will double the cost.
Mr Wong stressed that the circular economy requires complementary advantages from different regions. There is no way out if the development vision is limited to Hong Kong. (photo by Mr Cheng Tze-feng)
Waste management in Hong Kong is inefficient and should be seen around the world
South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan implemented waste levies in 1995, 1996 and 2000 respectively. Since then, they have gradually developed comprehensive and mature environmental policies with local characteristics.
Hong Kong's waste management system has been fragmented for many years, and it is time to look at the world and learn from advanced experience and thinking.
Hong Kong ’ s waste management policy has not been good for many years, and the climate should be on par with other regions. (Photo by Tsai Cheng-pong)
Korea has introduced waste utilization measures in a multi-pronged manner to achieve long-term management, so the Korean waste management system is at the forefront of Asia.
For example, the city of Seoul, which has achieved the most remarkable results, introduced a series of supporting measures in a few years to change the entire waste treatment model, public perception of waste and living habits after the implementation of the garbage levy system in 1995.
In contrast, the Hong Kong Government is always "discussing" with the industry and "considering" the initiatives of environmental protection groups.
Taiwan is also a leader in waste management in Asia.
The Taiwan government sent a special cleaning team to collect household waste from residents using two types of recycling trucks – yellow garbage trucks are used to collect general waste from residents using official garbage bags, and white garbage trucks are used to collect raw and cooked food waste, plastic and other recyclable resources.
As early as 1997, the Taiwan Environmental Protection Agency launched the "Resource Recovery 4-in-1 Program", which fully mobilized the role of the government, manufacturers, consumers and licensed recycling enterprises in waste management, not only to skillfully distribute the financial costs, but also to reflect the principle of impartiality.
Singapore has a small population, similar to Hong Kong, but the waste recycling work is more professional and centralized.
In Singapore, three waste management enterprises are licensed by the National Environment Agency (NEA) to provide waste collection and recycling services to residents in different parts of the country. The waste is meticulously classified into paper, plastic, glass and metal, and the garden waste is collected separately.
In the recycling process, incineration plants reduce the volume of waste by 90%, and then use 3% of non-incineration and non-recyclable waste to landfill to reduce the environmental burden.
According to statistics, Singapore ’ s solid waste recycling rate reached 51.7% in 2020, a model that Hong Kong can learn from.
As for the administrative efficiency of the Mainland, it is also worth reflecting on the Hong Kong government. In July 2019, Shanghai implemented what has been described as the “world ’ s most stringent ” waste separation measure.
First of all, its domestic waste is strictly divided into four categories, namely recyclables, hazardous waste, wet waste and dry waste; secondly, if individuals or units do not dispose of garbage in accordance with the classification, they will be punished with severe high fines.
Under the mandatory implementation of the government, Shanghai residents have achieved good environmental protection results after experiencing "pain".
The Garbage Levy Ordinance has already been introduced, but the Government must not be complacent about it, but must think about how to tie in with the Ordinance in the next step, and adopt a systematic and comprehensive thinking to achieve long-term waste management.
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The Netherlands employs infrared scanning technology at sorting plants to efficiently separate recyclables, minimizing landfill use and enhancing energy recovery.

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Today, 08: 26
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Photo: photo by Alexander Shahbazov
New approaches to waste management developed in Almaty
New approaches to waste management have been developed in Almaty.
In the metropolis already conduct a separate collection of solid household waste.
BaigeNews.kz learned about the prospects of separate garbage collection and the goals of the Almaty authorities for waste management.
In Almaty, there are more and more people who consciously approach the emission of household waste, sort waste for further processing and even carry waste from cardboard, paper and plastic to special reception points.
Conscious citizens admit that when properly sorted, a bag of recyclable waste is most often larger than a bag of other waste that cannot yet be recycled in the country.
For example, today in Kazakhstan do not recycle tetrapacks, and they still go to the basket with non-recyclable garbage.
The Akimat of Almaty supports such initiatives in every possible way and has already put more than a thousand special containers on the sites in the yards next to ordinary tanks.
In appearance, they look like an iron mesh box, and here residents can put such waste that is already processed in the city - plastic, paper (waste paper), glass, metal, cellophane and rags.
In the near future, there will be another 454 such containers in the city.
In addition, Almaty residents have access to 37 waste collection points that can be recycled.
In particular, one of the plants in Almaty produces polyethylene granules and stretch film from secondary raw materials.
At the waste sorting complex in Almaty, everything that can be recycled is taken away and sent to production.
Now 13 organizations are cooperating with this complex to process the selected recyclables.
The remaining waste is removed for burial, taking into account the norms of environmental legislation, to the landfill located in the village of Aytey, Karaysai district, Almaty region.
According to the statistics of the akimat of Almaty, more than 1200 tons of solid household waste are processed in the metropolis per day, of which 17% are processed.
Ecologist Mels Eleusizov believes that landfills in the Almaty region and the whole country should be closed and reclaimed so as not to be a “time bomb ” for the ecology and health of the inhabitants of Kazakhstan.
And sorting household waste of the population, he proposes to carry out in the yards manually.
"Today Almaty" produces "waste containing about 40 types of materials that can be recycled.
I have long proposed to organize sorting points on garbage sites so that employees manually sort waste and then in this form would be sent for processing.
This would provide not only smart waste management, but also new jobs, ” says Mels Eleusizov.
In developed European countries, landfills have been forgotten for a long time.
Here, at the state level, a hierarchy of values in relation to waste is built.
The main principle is to reduce the volume of "production" of garbage.
Those waste that still remain, sort and only what is already impossible to recycle, safely burned, getting energy used in the city.
At a special waste sorting plant in the capital of the Netherlands - Amsterdam bring all the waste of citizens and enterprises.
Here, with the help of a new technology - infrared scanning, waste is automatically taken from a huge pile that can be recycled.
Suitable as a secondary raw material waste is sent with a pressed form for processing to other enterprises.
The rest of the waste will have to be burned here to get steam and send it to heat houses and heat hot water, as well as generate electricity.
Burning garbage occurs in compliance with all environmental standards, measurements are 24 / 7, and if the excess of safe concentrations of harmful substances is recorded, the entire complex is immediately stopped.
What comes out of the pipe, according to experts, you can breathe, in the Netherlands and the EU very strict requirements for emissions.
The remaining ash is not buried, but is completely used for asphalt production, another sludge is sent for burial in special underground mines in neighboring Germany.
Speaking about sorting garbage, employees of the waste sorting plant in Amsterdam (AEB) say that residents of apartment buildings in megacities, even in Europe, can not sort all the garbage, so in Amsterdam, residents throw away only plastic, paper (waste paper) separately.
All the rest of the garbage will be sorted out by the automatic garbage sorting system at the garbage sorting plant.
“There is an opinion that if people at home sort the garbage, then you can get more recyclables for recycling.
But we have seen in practice that new technologies make it possible to sort garbage collected in a heap at a factory even better than if people in apartment buildings sorted 100 percent of their waste.
But in private houses in Amsterdam, the tenants themselves completely sort the waste, and he does not even go to our garbage sorting complex, but goes straight to processing.
In principle, there are very few landfills for waste disposal in the country, and none of them are currently used for disposal of waste from households.
There are several mines for the disposal of waste such as ash, but their negligible amount, ” said the manager of the waste sorting plant Amsterdam (AEB) Cohen Bytink.
Almaty and Almaty region jointly plan to adopt best practices.
Similar to the Amsterdam garbage sorting complex is promised to be built on the existing garbage sorting complex in the Ili district.
In the next few years, they will not only select waste for usable and not recyclable, but also get biogas from them.
The expected capacity of the plant is 120 thousand tons per year, and the construction will be carried out by a Kazakh-Spanish company.
In addition, the city is beginning to collect food waste, and they are also promised to use it for the production of biogas, and this is in line with the plans of Amsterdam, where they do not yet do anything with food waste, and also, as in Almaty, they plan to produce biogas from them.
photos by Alexander Shahbazov
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Taiwan’s innovative systems, such as designated garbage bags and mobile recycling trucks, foster community participation and strict adherence to sorting rules.

Title:

Content: Bauhinia Party ｜ The Dilemma and Countermeasures of Hong Kong ’ s Waste Management System
Author: 01 Forum
Published: Updated:
Author ： Shi Lei
The author believes that many of the current garbage collection disputes have been implemented to the feasibility level, in fact, are related to the inadequacy of the behavior system of residential areas to place garbage, and some of the shortcomings have not been collected garbage bags to make up for.
Its shortcomings mainly include: almost all residents of the garbage can be carried out 24 hours (such as a fixed garbage room and a long "business hours"), each residents of the garbage room often let the residents put garbage into (super) large garbage bins, and each garbage room corresponding to the number of residents, resulting in if there is a "black sheep" do not buy a levy garbage bag to throw garbage, they can walk without obstruction.
Property companies or FEHD contractors may have to wait for a long time before they find a "bad horse" in the process of comprehensive garbage disposal, but at this time it is difficult to claim responsibility, which leads to the "polluter pays" principle in fact is empty words.
The recent Jordan fire has also reminded all walks of life in Hong Kong that there are a large number of "trivial" old tenements in the most prosperous city center in Hong Kong, with chaotic personnel, lack of property services, and unethical behavior, resulting in a large number of public safety risks.
In these places, even property fees are difficult to ensure that the tenants pay in full, and how can the executive power to ensure the implementation of the levy garbage bag system? If the measures to effectively and timely remove the "black sheep" from the institutional level can not be designed, and the implementation level will be discounted for various "objective reasons", then it will form the behavior of "bad money driven away from good money".
Soon, no one will follow the requirements of the levy garbage bag system to do, and the criticism is rife, may the next government will abolish the annoying garbage collection system as a "moral government".
Refer to the garbage disposal policies of representative regions of the world, you can see that their garbage classification, collection of garbage bags and other systems are "devil in the details", often in the geographical environment, the unwritten rules of behavior in the residential community, and institutional protection, etc., to ensure that timely detection, isolation and failure to classify, pack and dispose of garbage according to the system requirements, and minimize the possibility of "black sheep".
For example, in the European Union, Belgium, where I lived, they have long promoted charging garbage bags.
Similar to Japan, Korea and Taiwan, residents have a fixed time to throw garbage (usually early in the morning on certain days), and garbage bags containing garbage should be placed in designated places.
It can be imagined that there is no requirement for garbage bags to be filled with garbage, but the specified bags are filled with garbage that should not be loaded or excessive garbage will be rejected.
The main way of living in the city of Leuven, where the author was at the time, was a single building or an apartment building (but the floor is usually no more than 10 floors, and the residents do not exceed 50 households). Once the garbage bags are found to be not in compliance with the regulations, whether it is the city government or the apartment manager, the difficulty of tracing is not great, and the surrounding residents will actively cooperate.
For example, Japan, Korea and Taiwan are using garbage levies to regulate the classification of citizens and reduce waste. The above areas must use the volume charge, through the use of garbage charging plastic bags to implement polluter pays.
In addition to requiring residents to place garbage (in the correct bag) in the designated location at the specified time, Japanese and Korean garbage bags are more meticulous in sorting.
For example, Japan, which is more familiar to Hong Kong people, requires transparent bags (not limited to specific models but must be transparent, can be tied) to quickly confirm that the garbage classification is correct, and the bag is combustible garbage, plastic, metal cans, etc., or non-recyclable and non-combustible waste.
Recyclable waste paper, etc., does not need to buy a separate garbage bag, but needs to be properly wrapped. Although Japan has a much higher density of living than EU countries, neighbors will pay more attention to not sorting garbage and will not delay the action.
South Korea's recycling rate is also more than 50%, the main reason is the strict classification of garbage bags, different from a kind of paid garbage bags in Hong Kong, South Korea is a variety of paid garbage bags, and each garbage bag can only contain one kind of material, and according to the difficulty of recycling to determine the price of garbage bags, the more difficult the recovery, the higher the price of garbage bags.
As a result, South Korea ’ s recovery rate is higher.
As for the Taiwan region, in addition to adopting a regular garbage collection mode similar to Japan, in the area where there are no conditions to set up a garbage room, there is a garbage truck and recycling truck every night, and the song of the snow truck comes to the small area.
This requirement is even higher, and residents need to actively show up at a specific time, so recycling workers can more accurately and timely eliminate the "black sheep" that do not pack garbage according to regulations, and therefore refuse to accept or take other measures.
It is worth pointing out that I have only visited Japan, Korea and Taiwan on short trips, and only stayed in commercial hotels.
Therefore, details such as the garbage system in residential areas are indirectly obtained through online KOL sharing, live scene dramas and other channels.
Please note that there are errors.
From this, it can be seen that the problems existing in Hong Kong's current waste management system and the waste management experience of advanced regions abroad have produced the following suggestions that deserve serious consideration and reference by the Hong Kong Government and relevant departments:
1. Improve the behavior system of residents throwing garbage.
First of all, the public garbage room and the garbage disposal place in the residential area should no longer be allowed to throw garbage 7x24 hours.
To consider formulating standards, such as limited delivery time and designated delivery points, for the reference of the entire Hong Kong property management industry, the FEHD will implement them to prevent the "black sheep" from evading garbage bag charges.
2. Strengthen the management of "no matter" areas, standardize the premises and methods of refuse collection in areas where property services are lacking, and ensure that the refuse charging system can be effectively implemented even in these problem areas.
3, with reference to the practices of Japan, Korea, Taiwan and other places, after the successful implementation of the garbage collection system, it continues to optimize, the implementation of more detailed garbage classification management, according to different materials and recycling difficulties to carry out differentiated charges.
This will increase the willingness of the environmental protection industry to handle high-difficulty waste, while increasing the residents ’ enthusiasm for sorting and waste reduction.
Critics may think that the institutional construction of these areas requires a long period of time and a large amount of resources to invest, and may not be able to be directly replicated in the real environment of Hong Kong.
Moreover, the improvement of the relevant system requires no small investment of resources.
Perhaps this is precisely the original intention of the SAR Government to levy a "short and fast" garbage levy.
However, it is already clear that the "short and fast" has only attracted doubts, and even if it is forced to push forward, it will also be at the expense of the government's recognition.
Moreover, the "black sheep" can not be effectively eradicated in a timely manner, which will inevitably make the garbage collection system become "half suspended". Only a few able and willing citizens are willing to do so (such as cooperating with "green in the area", and working hard even in the hot sun at the recycling point to deliver their own recyclable plastic waste to the recycling point of respectable citizens). Go your own way, the system cost has been paid a lot, and the problem to be solved by the garbage levy is still the same.
No matter what kind of solution is adopted, the government will need some time to refine the design of the refuse collection system and promote it more vigorously.
The implementation of the principle of garbage collection in the European Union, Japan and Korea, and Taiwan is not completed in three or two months.
Garbage collection needs the long-term cooperation of residents, change the long-term behavior habits can be completed in a few months?
How can this be called good governance and good governance? If you cook for the government, you can't be anxious and work hard for the government for a long time, you can only make a well-intentioned system truly have the positive meaning it should have.
The author is a researcher at the Bauhinia Institute for Policy Studies.
The article is only the opinion of the author and does not represent the position of Hong Kong 01.
Please email us at 01view @ hk01.com.
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Germany’s circular economy model integrates green technology and extended producer responsibility, achieving a 70% recycling rate and reducing raw material consumption.

Title:

Content: The circular economy of resistance and the fight against consumerism
19.10.2021 11: 24 PM
Homeland - George Kerzem
A few years ago, some decision makers and many environmental activists around the world worked to change the approach to waste treatment by naming it another name.
Initially defined as an untapped resource, it is finally treated as a key component of the circular economy.
Essentially, the idea of this economy is to keep waste as much as possible in the production cycle – using it as a raw material, or as a renewable product, rather than disposing of it in a landfill.
Communities that respect and develop their environment have incorporated the concept of a circular economy into their waste management strategies, with the aim of moving towards a circular economy in a specific period of time (e.g. 20-25 years).
In a circular economy, waste from one plant can be used as raw material in another plant; in this way, the extraction of other raw materials is greatly reduced.
From a sustainability perspective, the key issue is to reduce the total consumption of raw materials, reduce the depletion of land resources and destroy natural habitats.
Germany is one of the most prominent European countries that has worked and has been working for a few years to shift towards a circular economy model characterized by the fact that the resources that have been consumed do not leave the circle of use.
Instead of becoming pollutants, those resources are reused as raw materials or used, among other things, to produce energy.
Product design is also changing; it is supposed to be more energy efficient and extend product life.
In the end, according to this trend, the industry saves the quantities of raw materials, energy and water used, in addition to reducing the cost of pollution treatment methods.
The public scene in Germany says that the latter adopted a policy based on the use of green technology and thus prevent the emergence of pollution from the source, which is a shift from the previous policy based on the treatment of pollution resulting from its facilities, factories and vehicles.
German industry has become more competitive as it invests less in the purchase of raw materials that it exploits in a more economical way or recycles, and the annual turnover of the green technology industry is currently around 300 billion euros.
Circular Economy and the “Fourth Industrial Revolution ”
Antonis Mapropoulos, CEO of WASTE-D which provides professional advice in the field of waste treatment, has finally published with another expert a comprehensive book on the circular economy.
Mapropoulos analyzed the expected shifts in waste treatment as it becomes a component of the circular economy and described how it fits into the range of environmental problems plaguing the world, including the climate crisis.
All of this is within the immediate reality of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which is characterized by the close connection between the physical and digital worlds, and generates huge amounts of new waste hitherto unknown, certainly not of this magnitude.
By the end of the current decade, the amount of e-waste will reach 100 million tons per year.
By the middle of the century, it will be necessary to process about 80 million tons of waste from solar power plants.
By 2025, the number of unmanned aerial vehicles (of all types) out of use will reach 3.5 million annually.
In addition, there has been an increase in packaging waste, following the expansion of the use of e-commerce.
The circular economy vision appropriate for dealing with the changing volume and composition of waste differs in several important aspects from the prevailing vision of many official environmental bodies, as reflected in their plans and strategies.
Recycling is an important and priority component; while Mabropolis offers a different perspective, recycling only comes after a phase known as “preparing for reuse. ”
This preparation means planning, designing and manufacturing products suitable for multiple uses, or in a way that allows the components of those products to be dismantled and reused.
Governments will therefore be required to prepare regulations that create incentives to expand this activity.
Mapropoulos suggested some interesting ideas about recycling restrictions.
Among other things, he noted that the usefulness of recycling was diminished by the accumulation of chemical contaminants in the products on which the recycling process depended.
There is also a limit to how often a recycled product is used, even when it comes to durable and long-lasting materials such as aluminum and steel.
Another limitation of the recycling industry is the large expense required for the separation, sorting and processing of products, usually four to five times higher than the profit generated by the sale of recycled products.
Therefore, the circular economy should be based on clean waste products that facilitate the crystallization of efficient ways of reuse; thus, the circular economy will increasingly rely on the widespread use of advanced sorting and processing machines, which are evolving with the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
The circular economy also plays an important role in dealing with the climate crisis.
It will devise ways to extract precious metals from waste products, so that they can be used in equipment to produce renewable energy; as well as develop techniques to exploit and use building materials from older buildings — rather than extracting and processing those materials from nature, thus emitting large amounts of greenhouse gases.
Changing the way of thinking and the culture of consumption
As the circular economy requires pollution-free raw materials, there will be increased reliance on facilities that will treat waste residues and pollution residues coming out of the production and consumption cycle; mainly energy production facilities from combustion.
This is the problematic part of the circular economy vision, as it will continue to rely heavily on technology rather than on changing the culture of consumption and the extent to which materials are used in the modern economy.
A circular economy is not a project to change the environment, but a basis for changing the economy, especially with regard to the issue of economic indicators. Traditional indicators (primarily economic "growth") fail to give us an honest description of the quality of life, well-being and satisfaction of the popular strata (the majority of the population).
Governments have a central role to play, making the necessary changes to their legislation and policies, as well as investing significant public funds in programs that are primarily aimed at improving the quality of life and well-being of citizens.
This means moving towards green agriculture that does not waste natural resources and encourages a return to work on small agricultural holdings, as well as the construction sector, especially to improve energy efficiency.
As a result of the adoption and implementation of circular economy policies and mechanisms, we can expect to increase the financial value of Palestinian GDP by tens of millions of dollars, as well as providing tens of millions more that are currently being invested to address health and environmental consequences.
Of course, economic “growth ” is important, but not essential; what should interest us is the quality of people ’ s lives.
Economic "growth" in the capitalist sense is aimed at the expansion of markets in order to increase consumption and production of goods, regardless of the environmental and social dimensions and the erosion and destruction of natural resources; this is precisely caused by such "growth", which certainly does not contribute to the improvement of the quality of life.
In fact, the current capitalist economic “growth ” model based on an infinite rise in GDP, dependent on a constant increase in consumption – this model is environmentally unsustainable.
While providing jobs and raising the standard of living, it has also caused the destruction of the world ’ s natural systems, climate change, water scarcity and the depletion of arable land.
Moreover, the current capitalist model of “growth ” is based on the terrible inequality in the distribution of profits generated from natural resources.
The current model of “growth ” was crystallized in the aftermath of World War II as the primary objective of the world ’ s (capitalist) economies, and by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) it has become an indisputable goal, with which all countries and international organizations should act in harmony.
Many of the world's economists argue that there is no alternative to this "growth"; they believe that adverse environmental impacts can be dealt with through increased efficiency and technological improvements.
OECD countries have even developed a strategy they call “green growth, ” according to which growth and economic impacts can be partially decoupled.
For example, under this concept, greater energy and water rationalization results in energy consumption being lower than GDP growth.
Efficiency and savings often backfire; they allow income to be diverted in favour of consumption of other resources.
A prominent example of this relates to the European continent, which has managed to rationalize the consumption of natural resources within its borders, and is increasingly dependent on the consumption of the same resources from other countries at a lower cost.
To sum up, we can replace the current model of "growth" with another model that significantly reduces the use of raw materials.
Of course, investment in public infrastructure and technology can continue, but more funding will have to go to other growth channels such as welfare, health, education and entertainment.
The Coronavirus pandemic demonstrated how dependent we are on a well-functioning public health system and an efficient waste collection system, especially in urban areas.
Without proper collection and treatment of waste from large population centres, contaminants and diseases would have spread far more acutely.
A good healthcare system and efficient municipal waste treatment services are far more important than banks, bankers and capital markets.
Rotate our capital within our country
We can say that great economic energy lies in green environmental behavior within the framework of the “circular economy. ”
For example, the Palestinian labor market can absorb thousands of new jobs in the waste market alone, in addition to the reuse of raw materials worth hundreds of millions of shekels that are currently wasted and buried in landfills.
In this context, we note that many recent research has proved that the recycling of dry solid waste (metals, glass, plastic, paper, cardboard...)
It is economically viable and provides green jobs, more than landfill.
Since waste is generated within the community, recycling provides employment opportunities within the community itself, noting that recycling is labour-intensive, economically efficient, increases the productivity of natural resources, and thus contributes to raising the gross domestic product.
Economically, it is better to recycle dry waste than to bury it because it creates more green jobs.
Compared to dry landfill, recycling of the latter can increase the rate of operation by more than 40% -50%.
In the Palestinian context, the circular economy philosophy is consistent with the resistance economy model, which is based mainly on strengthening the popular national agricultural and industrial production structure, which is characterized by productive diversity and provides food production sovereignty to the people, and is centered internally in the local market, and produces the basic needs of the popular segments based on local production inputs, thus freeing us from dependence on external production inputs.
Fighting consumerism and minimizing our purchases, focusing on local, municipal and seasonal food products produced from natural materials, and generally committing to the acquisition of local goods that have undergone minimal manufacturing and have not traveled long distances, are produced organically and ethically and contain a minimum of reusable and recyclable packaging - all this is less expensive, reduces transportation costs, and reduces transportation costs. Enrich our money and capital within our country, promote local trade, conserve our local resources, reduce environmental and health pollution, and contribute to reducing energy consumption, as well as harmonizing this trend with the economy of resilience and resistance.
Environment and Development Perspectives
Design & Development

Public education campaigns in South Korea and Singapore highlight the critical role of awareness in fostering recycling habits and reducing contamination rates.

Title:

Content: Editorial: Waste recovery should be effectively increased
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Data released by the National Environment Agency last week showed that according to a survey conducted in 2023, 72% of households participated in a recycling program, up from 64% in 2021.
However, more household participation has not translated into higher recycling rates, and China ’ s household waste recycling rate last year stagnated at a historic low in 2022, recycling only 12% of waste.
Pollution is the biggest challenge facing our country in the recycling process.
Blue garbage collection bins placed throughout the island are often used as ordinary garbage cans, so that the recycled items are contaminated by food waste and cannot be used.
Contaminated items are not limited to one box of recyclables, because recyclables in the same area will be collected in the same recycling vehicle.
The Environment Agency estimates that the contamination rate of household recyclables is about 40 per cent.
Therefore, it is very important to take the recycling box seriously and carefully check the items placed in the recycling box, and arbitrarily throw the garbage into the recycling box, which will destroy the entire recycling process and make the recycling efforts of interested people fall short.
To improve the recycling rate, we must first strengthen public education.
While the Environment Agency has been advocating for the proper use of blue recycling bins, it is clear from the data point of view that the agency must also step up its ongoing education efforts to ensure that everyone knows what is recyclable and what is not.
The elderly and domestic helpers need special attention and guidance.
Schools also play an important role in teaching students proper recycling methods.
Through early education, the younger generation can better understand and practice the right recycling methods and communicate this knowledge to their families.
The bureau should also consider improving the design of the blue recycling bin so that it is easy to put in but not easy to take out, to prevent some people from turning over the bin and trying to find paper, aluminum cans and other reusable items that can be sold, resulting in a mess around and people mistaking it as a garbage can.
Since there are limited categories of items that can be put into blue recycling bins, such as used clothing and batteries, which cannot be discarded, better results may be achieved if more types of recycling are provided and further classified.
The trial of kitchen waste recycling cabinets and smart recycling bins in BiShan and Xinmin is a good attempt.
The pilot scheme, launched in April 2022, uses smart systems to recycle food waste, used clothing, paper, plastic, aluminum, tin cans and glass.
Through the use of technology, it effectively reduces the pollution rate of recycled materials to 10%, far below the national average of 40%.
The company plans to install more smart recycling bins in 83 more locations from January next year.
Under the scheme, members of the public are required to download the application and scan the QR code to select the type of items to be recycled before they can open the recycling bins of the respective items.
Although the operation is more cumbersome, it can keep the environment clean and prevent abuse.
On the other hand, by participating in the recycling program to accumulate points to exchange supermarket gift vouchers, it is expected to change the public's recycling behavior and gradually develop the habit of sorting garbage.
Of course, changing attitudes towards recycling will require sustained public education and information.
Including non-household waste, China's overall recycling rate last year fell by five percentage points from the previous year, only 52%, which is far from China's goal of raising the recycling rate to 70% by 2030.
Our only Silmago landfill island is expected to be filled by 2035.
In addition to setting recovery rate targets, reducing overall consumption targets is also important as this reduces the need for recovery at the source.
Recycling is not convenient, and recyclable items must be properly cleaned and correctly classified.
To change long-formed habits and lifestyles is challenging, individual efforts may seem trivial, but the power of collective action is immense.
If everyone is actively involved in proper recycling and waste reduction, Singapore can overcome the challenge of waste pollution and move towards a more sustainable future.
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Countries like Costa Rica and Taiwan incentivize recycling through programs such as eco-coins and reusable systems, promoting sustainable practices.

Title:

Content: People 's Network > > International
Costa Rica promotes plastic pollution control
"EcoCoin" is promoted to many Latin American countries
The same is true of the reporter Song.
May 26, 2023 06: 38 | Source: People's Daily - People's Daily
Small number
The Costa Rican government recently signed a "plastic ban order", prohibiting businesses from selling and distributing free plastic bags, and completely banning plastic straws, which was officially implemented a year later.
The bill mainly includes: require supermarkets and other commercial institutions to provide recycled plastic or biodegradable plastic content of not less than 50% of the handbags; require disposable plastic bottle importers, manufacturers and dealers must produce or sell plastic bottles containing a certain proportion of recycled resin, establish a waste recycling mechanism; prohibit all state agencies in Costa Rica to buy disposable plastic products such as tableware, food containers.
According to data released by the Costa Rican health department, 40 tons of plastic waste per day does not enter the recycling system, posing a serious threat to ecosystems and biodiversity.
According to the statistics of relevant research institutions, in 2015 alone, Costa Rica generated nearly 10 million kilograms of poorly managed plastic waste, and without intervention, plastic waste is expected to reach 16 million kilograms by 2040, and nearly double by 2060, reaching nearly 20 million kilograms.
In recent years, the Costa Rican government has increased policy guidance and introduced relevant laws and regulations to strengthen the control of the production, consumption and recycling of plastic products. In 2017, the country launched a national strategy to gradually eliminate single-use plastic products in major cities in Costa Rica. In 2021, Costa Rica ’ s Ministry of Environment and Energy issued a directive prohibiting the use of single-use plastic products in national nature reserves to reduce the ecological impact of plastic waste.
The Costa Rican government has actively promoted sectoral cooperation, carried out incentive activities, and promoted the enthusiasm of the people to take the initiative to participate in the management of plastic pollution.
For example, the Ministry of Health and some enterprises jointly launched the "ecological coin" program to encourage the public to recycle waste.
People can open a personal "eco-coin" electronic account, sorting out recyclables and sending them to designated recycling points, and they can obtain virtual currency - "eco-coin".
When purchasing the products of participating enterprises, people can use the "ecological coin" to deduct or obtain corresponding discounts.
At present, the project has received support from other countries in Latin America, including Panama, Peru, Colombia and Argentina.
Costa Rica is also strengthening cooperation with neighboring countries and international organizations to combat plastic pollution.
In response to the problem of marine litter pollution, Costa Rica has worked with seven neighbouring countries to develop an action plan and take corresponding action through intergovernmental cooperation.
Last year, the Costa Rican government, together with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), launched the "Plastic-free Landscape Project" to remove 200,000 tons of unrecyclable plastic that has not been properly treated and convert it into building materials.
The plan will set up recycling devices in four of Costa Rica's most polluted rivers to speed up the process of collecting plastic waste.
People 's Daily (May 26, 2023, 15 edition)
(Editor: Niu Yong, Yang Guangyu)
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These global practices demonstrate the importance of government policies, advanced technologies, and public engagement in achieving high recycling rates.

Title:

Content: Bauhinia Party ｜ Refresh Waste Charges
Author: 01 Forum
Published: Updated:
Like most Hong Kong people, I did not have any concept or awareness of garbage collection, until I heard that it was officially implemented on April 1 this year, and I began to pay attention to it.
In fact, the legislation on waste charging has been passed by the Legislative Council as early as August 2021, and the specific provisions of waste charging are actually very simple and clear, that is, based on the "polluter pays" principle, all waste, whether from individuals, families or groups, or according to the pre-purchased designated garbage bags, or according to the weight of the waste, the "entry fee".
As for the government's intention to implement waste charging, it is also very clear and simple, that is, to force the public to reduce waste and recycle through charging, and promote the sustainable development of ecology.
Author ： Zhou Xiaojao
Although the rules are simple and clear, it is not so easy to really land.
In order to pay less, people will try to pack more garbage into garbage bags. How should those crowded garbage bags be tracked and handled? In order to pay less, people will dispose of their garbage in public places such as streets, parks, markets, shopping malls, etc., how should such behavior be identified and enforced? As for the different groups that produce large amounts of waste, as well as the property, cleaning, refuse collection and other organizations that assist in the disposal of waste, a series of countermeasures are also required.
It is in view of the complexity of implementation that the Government has set aside a preparation period of up to 18 months for the formal implementation of the Ordinance.
However, the general public, like the author, did not really start to pay attention to the new policy, which will affect every household, until the first two or three months of its implementation, and there was a lot of uncertainty and doubt. Ming. "
But the question is, is the disruption caused by garbage charges really just a problem of insufficient publicity?
How to deal with garbage is an old problem faced by cities, especially large cities.
Specifically, there are three core issues surrounding the garbage problem: First, how to control the amount of garbage generated? Second, how to encourage the classification of garbage management? Third, how to deal with different types of garbage? The first issue mainly relates to the source of garbage: how to avoid excessive packaging?
How to promote the environmental protection of packaging materials? The second issue relates to the recycling of waste: how to guide the public to separate and collect different types of waste according to the difficulty of recycling? The third issue relates to the fate of waste: simple stacking, centralized landfill or recycling, incineration and power generation?
In response to the above garbage issue, Hong Kong has not made a satisfactory response for a long time, let alone effective action.
The lunch boxes purchased on the street are still foam or plastic that cannot be decomposed. Shopping bags provided by shopping malls are also plastic products, and the goods purchased from the mainland are wrapped in plastic layer after layer.
There was a time when Hong Kong encouraged the classification of kitchen waste and the production of agricultural fertilizer from kitchen waste. Unfortunately, this good practice failed to persist, and the public has not formed a self-awareness of garbage classification.
A large amount of waste has been sent to the countryside to landfill without any sorting. The existing three major landfills are already overwhelmed, and facilities such as waste power generation have taken more than 10 years to start.
Solving the waste problem itself is a systematic project, involving all aspects, coupled with the interests of thousands of households and changes in living habits, so each country in the disposal of the waste issue mostly adopt a gradual, tailored, durable strategy.
Japan is recognized as the best country in terms of waste disposal. The key to its success is the gradual development of a sense of garbage sorting through half a century of sustained efforts and strict laws and regulations.
Mainland China also tries to start with garbage sorting, although there is a strong enforcement force, but the government still dare not play a game of chess across the country, but choose some cities to pilot first, and then gradually push to the whole country.
In contrast, Hong Kong, which has been lagging behind on garbage disposal, naively uses “polluter pays ” as the ultimate“ killer ’ s mace ” in an attempt to “get it done. ”
This mentality is understandable, but can a simple, one-size-fits-all waste charge really solve the waste problem facing Hong Kong?
Can you encourage eco-friendly packaging?
Can you promote garbage separation?
More importantly, can the current waste charging design really reduce the amount of waste generated?
I am afraid the answers to these questions are not as optimistic as the Government thinks.
If Hong Kong ’ s waste challenge is not effectively addressed, then what is the point of this policy, which costs the time and money of all citizens and stakeholders?
For example, in order to make up for the long-term inaction on reclamation, the SAR Government hastily launched the HK $trillion-dollar Lantau Island Construction Project in the absence of full consultation with the community, making it difficult for the project to ride under the current internal and external environment. The awkward situation.
The author is not sure whether garbage collection will also face similar experiences, but if the publicity and communication in the next few months can not convince the community that the relevant garbage collection policy can effectively solve the garbage problem faced by Hong Kong, then it is necessary for the SAR Government to suspend the implementation of the relevant policy, and redesign the plan to be more gradual and targeted, focusing on effectively solving the waste generation, waste management and recycling. A series of policies, and consistent implementation.
In fact, the above doubts about the government ’ s waste charging policy have emerged since the government first introduced the relevant bill to the Legislative Council in 2018.
Although the Bills Committee set up at that time to scrutinize the relevant bills supported the direction of the Government's waste reduction policy, it also made a large number of recommendations on the effective implementation of the relevant policies. Some members even held different views on whether the relevant fees could achieve the preset targets.
The Government has also responded to the views of the Bills Committee, including improving waste reduction and recycling measures and providing assistance to those in need.
Regrettably, these reasonable measures should be perfect in the two years after the passage of the relevant regulations in the preparatory stage either in the form, or the lack of publicity, and ultimately let this in the design of the innate deficiencies, in the landing and inadequate preparation of the waste reduction policy is likely to fall into the eyes of the public "workers hurt money" and abandoned halfway.
The author, Zhou Xiaojui, is a researcher at the Bauhinia Institute for Policy Studies.
The article is only the opinion of the author and does not represent the position of Hong Kong 01.
Please email us at 01view @ hk01.com.
Please attach the author ’ s real name and contact details.
If not applicable, no notice will be given.