Countries with leading waste sorting and recycling systems demonstrate a blend of strong governmental leadership, tailored incentives, public engagement, and rigorous enforcement.

Japan is distinguished for its comprehensive, decentralized system mandating meticulous separation of waste into categories such as combustibles, recyclables, and hazardous materials, conducted with specified bags and strict adherence to set collection times.

Compliance is encouraged by refusing improperly sorted waste and is fostered through ongoing public education, community-level guidance, and extended adaptation periods for new rules; education begins early, with children learning sorting practices in schools, gradually embedding waste separation into the national culture.

South Korea employs a volume-based fee structure tied to official bags for specific waste types, supported by robust public education, color-coded infrastructure, and substantial government enforcement.

Incentives encourage compliance, while penalties such as non-collection and fines deter improper disposal.

Mandatory food waste recycling has been heavily promoted, and innovative programs—such as reusable container schemes—help drive recycling rates above 50%, with over 94% of food waste recycled.

Taiwan exemplifies policy through a household waste levy, musical collection trucks, dual-stream collections, and government–manufacturer–citizen collaboration, resulting in high participation and ongoing system refinement.

Singapore features centrally managed, professionalized collection and meticulous sorting, guided by standards and public campaigns.

Finland achieves near-zero landfill rates through enforced source separation, widespread public cooperation, and fiscal incentives, with local and national government coordination.

Belgium and the EU use extended producer responsibility, binding laws, designated fee bags, regular outreach, and the “Right to Repair” to sustain high recovery rates.

Shanghai’s rapid reforms involved staged pilot programs, large-scale public education, high fines, and volunteer-driven awareness, leading to clear improvement.

India’s progress relies on grassroots innovation, social enterprise, and the integration of informal waste workers; community education, decentralized models, and local government partnership are vital.

In summary, all successful systems employ phased rollouts, sustained education, coordinated infrastructure, tangible incentives, and enduring government commitment to achieve robust sorting and recycling outcomes.

Countries with leading waste sorting and recycling systems demonstrate a blend of strong governmental leadership, tailored incentives, public engagement, and rigorous enforcement.

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.

Japan is distinguished for its comprehensive, decentralized system mandating meticulous separation of waste into categories such as combustibles, recyclables, and hazardous materials, conducted with specified bags and strict adherence to set collection times.

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.
Please attach the author ’ s real name and contact details.
If not applicable, no notice will be given.

Compliance is encouraged by refusing improperly sorted waste and is fostered through ongoing public education, community-level guidance, and extended adaptation periods for new rules; education begins early, with children learning sorting practices in schools, gradually embedding waste separation into the national culture.

Title:

Content: Point of view
Lin Hsiao-lu
Lin Xiaolu: Garbage levy can not be shelved 3 points of improvement can be repaired and reconstructed
[Ming Pao Article] The Government explained the future direction of the waste levy policy at the joint meeting of the Legislative Council Panel on Environmental Affairs and the Panel on Food Safety and Environmental Hygiene earlier. It is not easy to take the first step, but it is even more difficult to forge ahead.
Although there is no hope of introducing the garbage levy on 1 August this year, the Government continues to send bags and sign a contract to help all sectors of the community gradually adapt to the policy.
Since this year, the publicity surrounding the waste levy has become popular, especially on how to use designated plastic bags and labels, how to recycle and classify, etc., which has sparked a wave of heated debate.
Behind the heated discussion, people from all walks of life are not only thinking, but also willing to take action.
It is not difficult to see from the results of the "first try" scheme submitted by the Government to the Legislative Council that there is a higher demand for additional recycling packages from various pilot stakeholders.
A serious “try first ” approach is a safe step to explore and deal with problems.
If "disturbing the people" is turned into "convenient people", the government should worry that all sectors of society are unwilling to cooperate with the implementation of the policy.
In this regard, I would like to make the following three suggestions.
The core of the policy is to reduce waste for all.
First, return to the original heart, reduce the waste.
Waste reduction and recycling are global trends and national goals.
Hong Kong is in line with the trend of environmental protection, and it is fair to follow suit.
Explain that the policy should not deviate from the goal, the core of the municipal solid waste charging policy is not the word "charging", but the reduction of waste by the whole people.
The society adheres to the "polluter pays" principle, reducing waste from the source and encouraging recycling.
The Government should continue to explain its policies to all sectors, answer questions and answer doubts, allay public concerns, provide clear training and work guidance for the frontline and the industry, and help the public understand the operation of the policy and its legal responsibilities.
Behavioral psychology often says that it takes only 21 days to form or change a habit.
In many places, garbage is classified very carefully, and there are dry and wet, combustible and non-combustible.
The classification of plastics in Hong Kong is very complicated for many citizens and discourages those who come into contact with recycling for the first time.
Therefore, continuing education for waste separation and recycling is crucial to waste reduction policies.
The Government should liaise with local authorities to encourage the public to adopt a habit of sorting waste into their daily lives, so as to reduce the burden on frontline staff.
Second, cherish the time, check and fill the gaps.
Implementation of environmental protection policies, or experiencing the "981 difficulties", one by one to overcome the difficulties, can achieve positive results.
Practice is the only standard for testing the truth, and there are always omissions and deficiencies in the process of supporting the first step.
The public will gradually cooperate with the laying of recycling facilities.
Changing customs and expanding the recycling network are difficult to achieve overnight.
The successful implementation of waste levies has taken decades of hard work to bear fruit.
Korea and Taiwan have implemented garbage levies for generations, and the problems encountered along the way are not less than those in Hong Kong, nor can they be comprehensively solved.
In the 14 pilot sites of the "first try first" scheme in Hong Kong, all the stakeholders actively collected the designated bags, but the overall utilization rate and disposal volume were not satisfactory.
However, at locations with relatively complete recycling facilities and services, the use of designated bags is relatively satisfactory, and the types and quantities of items recovered have also increased.
It can be seen that as long as the Government properly lays out recycling facilities, the public will gradually cooperate.
Expand the recycling network, like a spider web, from point to line and surface.
In the coming year, the Government should formulate a timetable and roadmap to promote recycling, increase the number of recycling convenience points and recycling mobile points, adjust the density of collection facilities, extend and unify the service hours of collection points and public refuse collection points, and strengthen mobile recycling services in areas where there are no owners' corporations, residents' organizations and management companies.
Government must keep track of progress
Third, open and honest, accurate policy.
The Government should be realistic and strive for time so that all sectors of the community can understand the details of the policy more clearly.
The results of the "Try first" project have exposed many difficulties and pain points. The Government must continue to account for the progress of its work in the coming year, so that the community can feel the sincerity and determination of the Government to solve the problem.
With feedback from different stakeholders, the Government can understand the difficulties and challenges faced in different scenarios and formulate specific action plans and guidelines for households, businesses and the industry.
The waste levy policy is an important part of promoting waste reduction and emission reduction. If you successfully change the habits of the public and establish a deep environmental culture, it is not inevitable to withdraw the levy; but if you delay indefinitely or even shelve it at the initial stage, it is a "self-waste martial arts".
The author hopes that the government will seize the time to implement the garbage levy policy to stabilize the orientation, uphold the "results as the goal" policy philosophy, repair policy omissions, and transform into energy to promote the progress of society.
The author is a legislator.
(Criticism of current affairs articles published by this website is aimed at pointing out errors or deficiencies in relevant systems, policies or measures, with the aim of correcting or eliminating such errors or deficiencies, and improving them through lawful means, with no intention of inciting hatred, dissatisfaction or hostility towards the Government or other communities)
[Lin Hsiao-lu]
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South Korea employs a volume-based fee structure tied to official bags for specific waste types, supported by robust public education, color-coded infrastructure, and substantial government enforcement.

Incentives encourage compliance, while penalties such as non-collection and fines deter improper disposal.

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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Mandatory food waste recycling has been heavily promoted, and innovative programs—such as reusable container schemes—help drive recycling rates above 50%, with over 94% of food waste recycled.

Title:

Content: Pens and Clouds: Robbing Citizens' Purses Again - Cheng Wanli Media
April 21, 2022 00: 05
Eastern Network Television
More News Clips
What do you want to pay for without words?
The Chairman of the Commission on Sustainable Development, Mr Lam Ching-chai, said earlier that the current levy on 50 cents plastic bags was too cheap and made the public feel like "immune".
In response, the Environment Bureau immediately submitted a paper to the Legislative Council proposing that the levy on plastic bags should be raised from the current 50 cents to $1, and that the exemption for frozen food should be abolished.
Food outlets will continue to be exempted from selling plastic bags. However, restaurants can only distribute one plastic bag to guests free of charge.
Under the control of the “one-size-fits-all ” faction of the Legislative Council, raising the levy on plastic bags seems inevitable.
However, as mentioned in this column, at present, the economy is frozen and the unemployment rate is high, and any proposal to increase the burden of the public should not be implemented. Not to mention, merchants do not have to pay the plastic bag fee to the government, and directly fall into the pockets of the merchants.
What adds to the burden of the public is that the authorities plan to implement a garbage levy in the second half of next year. After the increase in electricity and bus fares, the Government has started to attack the public on the grounds of the garbage levy.
Originally, the garbage levy has been proposed for many years, and it is inevitable that it will be implemented as soon as possible. However, now that the epidemic is still raging and the grassroots are in deep trouble, the Hong Kong Government does not want to find ways to reduce the burden of the public, but continues to rob the public of their purse.
At the end of the day, for the sake of environmental protection, people don ’ t mind paying, but they have to pay what they can.
Let ’ s talk about the economic environment, let ’ s talk about what the government has done to protect the environment, I believe no citizen can answer it. Waste recycling is not a matter of words, recycling is not a matter of words, only selling a single levy, there is no matching, so how can environmental protection be done, how can it not be a matter of nothing? South Korea ’ s recycling policy started even earlier, and today the recycling rate of food waste exceeds 94%, which is a remarkable achievement.
Other people can do it, Hong Kong can't do it, it's not the government's problem.

Taiwan exemplifies policy through a household waste levy, musical collection trucks, dual-stream collections, and government–manufacturer–citizen collaboration, resulting in high participation and ongoing system refinement.

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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Singapore features centrally managed, professionalized collection and meticulous sorting, guided by standards and public campaigns.

Title:

Content: Waste management in Hong Kong starts early and matures late. How can we catch up with Taiwan, Shanghai, Korea and the tail lights of the starry cars?
Author: 01 Weekly Report
Published: Updated:
Hong Kong's environmental protection policy has not made great progress. For many years, it seems that it has remained at the stage of "blue waste paper, yellow aluminum cans, coffee plastic bottles", and there is no plastic reduction policy.
Last year, the mainland stopped the import of waste paper, and Hong Kong recyclers also stopped collecting waste paper.
When the Government is faced with Members' questions on plastic reduction and countless initiatives by environmental groups, it is always in a state of "discussion" with the retail and restaurant industries, "under consideration", lest it harm the economic interests of the industry, and would rather harm the environmental benefits than see any actual action taken.
On July 1, 2019, the Shanghai Municipal Domestic Waste Management Ordinance was officially implemented.
At Haihong Bridge Station on the railway line, volunteers are promoting a little knowledge of garbage classification. (Visual China)
On the other hand, after years of vigorous promotion, waste management is well organized and highly efficient: South Korea ’ s waste management system is at the forefront of Asia, with Seoul being the most effective.
The local municipal authorities have the responsibility to collect, recycle and dispose of domestic and commercial solid waste. Waste management in Taiwan once lagged behind Hong Kong, but due to the early introduction of the waste levy policy by the Taiwan government, and then formulated a complex and effective waste management system, the situation in Singapore is gradually reversed. Shanghai launched the “Shanghai Municipal Domestic Waste Management Ordinance ” in 2019. The complicated measures have caused complaints from the public. Over time, the results can be said to be immediate after the people have familiarized themselves with the regulations.
Looking at the situation in these four Asian regions, it is not difficult to imagine why there is no systematic waste management in Hong Kong today, when we look back at Hong Kong's garbage collection practices, which rely entirely on the people's consciousness to separate and unsupervised waste.
For more details, please read the 285th issue of Hong Kong 01 (4 October 2021), “What should Hong Kong look for in Taiwan, Shanghai, Korea and Star? ”.
Click here to try our weekly newsletter for more in-depth coverage.
285 issues of Hong Kong 01 e-newsletter Other exclusive highlights:
Pull gate limit or energy consumption double control? China North and South electricity shortage is the same and different
The Expectations of Lam Cheng's Final Policy Address: Regaining the Dominant Power of Development and Restructuring the Land Economy
"Left glue" opens up the land, imagines that the government is lagging behind the people.
Has the central bank 'pacified' the property market twice in a week?
Sixteen Years of Progress: The Delayed Garbage Levy Ordinance
After Meng Wanzhou's return to the motherland, the public opinion has been heated to examine Sino-US relations.
Lau Kwok-hoon: Regaining the "True Hong Kong Speed" and developing a new centre in New Territories North
Is the time for UK to relax regulation of gene editing agriculture coming?
An Interview with Chu Hsing-hsiang and Hu Kuo-hsien
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Finland achieves near-zero landfill rates through enforced source separation, widespread public cooperation, and fiscal incentives, with local and national government coordination.

Belgium and the EU use extended producer responsibility, binding laws, designated fee bags, regular outreach, and the “Right to Repair” to sustain high recovery rates.

Title:

Content: Author: D.V. Dmitriev, General Director (Engineering company "555")
Published on the portal "Chemical engineering", December 2021
2021 was, if not a breakthrough, then very promising in matters of the global trend of combating electrical debris.
As you know, on the planet formed more than 53.6 million tons of electrical debris, which is comparable to the mass of 5300 Eiffel towers.
Old electrical appliances, in addition to valuable metals, contain highly toxic substances.
The waste produced in the aggregate by all countries of the world contains about 50 tons of mercury, 71 thousand tons of bromine-containing flame retardants and a large number of other chemical compounds.
Source
As for Russia and the CIS, the amount of e-waste generated in the region in 2019 increased by 50 percent to 2.5 million tons.
Source
According to the World Bank, by 2050, the amount of waste worldwide will double.
If we do not deal with this problem at the global level, then an environmental catastrophe is inevitable.
That is why in recent years, the struggle to reduce emissions and waste, including electrical debris, has become not just a declaration, but an integral part of the sustainable development of the economy of both individual corporations and countries.
Right to repair
On March 1, 2021, the “Right to Repair ” law came into force in the European Union, according to which manufacturers must provide conditions for the repair of equipment for 10 years from the start of sales, including providing detailed repair instructions and producing components.
While this applies only to household appliances, but with the growth of automation and digitalization in the industry, the same future awaits manufacturers of industrial electronics.
More than 15 thousand units of almost all leading manufacturers of industrial electronics passed through the laboratories of the Engineering Company "555".
Our engineers always note with great delight rare cases when the manufacturer has provided for the possibility of repair, having developed a convenient design and easy access to the internal parts of the device.
We hope that with the introduction of new requirements in the future, all manufacturers will necessarily take into account the principles of the gaining momentum of the “Right to Repair ” standard.
The main principles of "Rights to repair":
• availability of information: documentation, software;
• fair access to spare parts and tools, including diagnostics;
• Unlock for repair and reuse;
• unencumbered resale of equipment, including software;
• Repairable products.
Designers should consider the principles of repair and recycling when developing a product.
Unfortunately, the process of information openness of manufacturers is not as fast as we would like, so engineers engaged in restoration at the component level, have to apply all their knowledge, skills and ingenuity to achieve a successful result.
But today the accumulated knowledge base of engineers-experts of the Engineering company "555" allows not only to solve the most difficult tasks as efficiently as possible, but also to share experience and the most interesting cases with colleagues.
The company holds specialized technical webinars on current topics of repair and maintenance of industrial electronics, receiving a large number of positive feedback and questions from colleagues from manufacturing enterprises.
ESG and repair of industrial electronics.
Interconnection, ideas and perspectives
ESG (environmental, social, governance – “responsible attitude to the environment ”,“ high social responsibility ”, “high quality of corporate governance ”) are the three parameters according to which companies ensure the management of sustainable development.
It is a set of company performance standards that conscious investors use to verify potential investments.
Standards emerged primarily in response to environmental degradation and global warming.
But today it is already a kind of business philosophy that leading companies are forced to support in order to access financial resources and sustainable development.
In Russia, a third of large banks have already implemented ESG valuation of companies in their credit process.
Banks will test each borrower for compliance with the principles of sustainable development.
The balance between all criteria is very important for sustainable development, but the significance of each criterion is different for different industries.
For example, while social and managerial criteria are the most important for the services and finance sector, environmental responsibility is by far the most important for energy and industrial companies.
Restoration of industrial electronics is an integral part of the sustainable development of the economy.
The activity of the Engineering Company “555 ” is directly related to the environmental management of enterprises: the company ’ s engineers not only extend the service life of the equipment, but also contribute to the reduction of unplanned downtime.
And, as you know, for example, in the oil and gas industry, several hours of downtime can and do lead to annual emissions entering the atmosphere.
In the conditions of universal automation and digitalization, due to inefficient maintenance of industrial electronics, the stability of the entire enterprise suffers today, and, as a result, the volume of waste during unplanned downtime increases.
Properly built processes of maintenance and PPR of electronics at the enterprise contributes to a more rational use of resources.
Engineering company "555" performs maintenance of frequency-controlled drives, uninterruptible power supplies, control cabinets at industrial enterprises of any industries throughout Russia.
Components of power converter equipment and automation have different service life.
With timely replacement of the necessary components and preventive maintenance of individual elements, it is possible to increase the service life of the equipment by almost 2 times from the manufacturer ’ s stated.
The service contract is based on the interests and conditions of a particular enterprise.
In areas of the Far North and remote facilities, where there is not a sufficient number of qualified specialists, it is important to fully support the facility.
For large industrial enterprises, integration with the repair services of the plant, consulting and training, meeting the requirements of the MRO strategy adopted at the enterprise are important.
Even in the event of equipment failure, the experience and technical base of the Engineering Company "555" allows you to restore the operability at the component level.
The formation of a replacement fund on the basis of previously failed and repaired blocks is one of the effective methods of reducing losses in the process of MRO.
In addition, if we return to the issues of sustainable development and a new business philosophy, the restoration of equipment reduces the amount of garbage and saves the resources that would have been spent on the production of new equipment.
Circular economy, 5R and conscious consumption
Conscious consumption is no longer just words and slogans.
Sustainability criteria are beginning to play a crucial role in the development and investment of leading industrial groups.
It is especially pleasant to realize that the vision and activities of the Engineering Company "555" fully comply with the new standards.
In the well-known 5R zero waste scheme, recovery and reuse play a key role.
Socially responsible business is the basis of the concept of a “green economy ”, which implies a system of economic activity that leads to improved well-being of people in the long term, reducing environmental risks for future generations.
An integral component is socially responsible consumption, which involves a change in human thinking and values in relation to nature.
The circular economy concept is, in fact, a development strategy and practical framework for the implementation of the green economy, which offers effective business models to ensure more efficient consumption of resources and reduce environmental impact.
The circular economy is an alternative to the traditional linear economy (creation, use, disposal of waste).
The global goal to be achieved is to rethink production systems and reorient the consumer habits of citizens through technological, social and organizational innovations.
In many countries, legislation has already been adopted to promote the circular economy (China, Germany, Switzerland have adopted relevant laws, South Korea has adopted the Green Growth Strategy; Japan is building the Right Material Cycle Society).
Returning to the beginning of the article, “The Right to Repair ” is just a practical confirmation of the course taken by developed countries to change the concepts of national development aimed at maximum reduction of consumption, reuse, repair and restoration.
In our case, the reuse of industrial electronics can reduce the amount of electronic debris and improve the ecology of the planet.
The introduction of the Component Repair business process at industrial enterprises will allow manufacturers to successfully integrate into the concept of "green economy", implement programs of lean production, sustainable development and environmental management.
In the future, the introduction of innovative technologies, the Internet of Things will allow to receive data from each electronic device in production: about its date, place and cost of production, failures of individual components, on the basis of which it will be possible to make more effective decisions about its restoration, replacement or relocation.
But it is necessary to lay the foundation for such “smart systems ” now, introducing innovative MRO management processes at production facilities.
To ensure systematic interaction with large enterprises, the specialists of the Engineering Company "555" conduct a technical audit with the visit of experts to the production.
Based on the results of the survey of production management, inspection of electrical equipment, control cabinets and lines, our specialists issue a conclusion on the possibility, feasibility and cost of repairing specific types of equipment, as well as the issue of preparing for the implementation of the Component Repair business process.

Shanghai’s rapid reforms involved staged pilot programs, large-scale public education, high fines, and volunteer-driven awareness, leading to clear improvement.

India’s progress relies on grassroots innovation, social enterprise, and the integration of informal waste workers; community education, decentralized models, and local government partnership are vital.

In summary, all successful systems employ phased rollouts, sustained education, coordinated infrastructure, tangible incentives, and enduring government commitment to achieve robust sorting and recycling outcomes.

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.
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