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Author: Lao Minyi
2020-06-22 07:30
Last update date: 2020-06-22 07:30In 2018, an average of 139 metric tons of "No. 1 Glue" (PET plastic bottles) were discarded per day in Hong Kong. Two plastic recycling plants in Hong Kong were completed this year. It is estimated that more than 90 metric tons of plastic bottles can be processed daily. Sixty-five percent of plastic bottles were buried in landfills.
Recyclers have a good blueprint for recycling, but some groups believe that the "Central Glue Collection", plastic beverage container producer responsibility plan and garbage charges in Hong Kong have been delayed. The recycling system is not fully developed under the support of limited policies. The Basel Convention will regulate the global waste plastics trade next year, and local rubber competition will be greater. It is more difficult for plastic recycling plants to operate because of insufficient recycling, and even to close down. It will be more difficult to promote recycling in the future.
The third part of "Where is the waste rubber"
"Where is the waste plastic" series
(1) Insufficient recovery manufacturers imported foreign rubber support operations, the central rubber collection started to hit the reef
(2) Rebirth of discarded bottles and expensive plastics is exported to Taiwan recyclers hope to be reused locally
(3) If the daily processing capacity rises, if the recovery is insufficient, the closed factory landfill will become the only destination
Two plastic bottle processing plants in Hong Kong are expected to be completed within this year, including the plant set up by Liu Yaocheng, chairman of Liu Caiji Paper. (Photographed by O'Gallery)
Two plastic bottle processing plants in Hong Kong are expected to be completed within this year. One of them is a plastic recycling facility jointly operated by Europa, Baguio and Swire Coca-Cola in the Environmental Park. Plastics (that is, No. 1 and No. 2 plastics), of which PET accounts for about two-thirds; the other was established by Liu Yaocheng, chairman of Liu Caiji Paper, and will be put into production as soon as next month. The maximum daily PET processing capacity is 25 metric tons. The plant can process more than 90 metric tons of PET per day after commissioning.
In addition, Hankang Renewable Resources Co., Ltd., which currently handles the most PET in Hong Kong, receives at least 800 metric tons of waste plastic from local and foreign countries each month. PET accounts for half of it, about 400 metric tons. Shangjuncheng Environmental Protection Co., Ltd. received about 6 metric tons of PET last month.
Based on a comprehensive estimate of the estimated capacity and current receiving capacity of the above four companies, if the recycler wishes to receive the required amount of glue from the local area, it can reach 111 metric tons. Based on the amount of disposal in 2018, 80% of plastic bottles can be avoided.
Inadequate recycling policy, Huan Tuan You Plastic Factory is difficult to operate
The numbers may look good, but Zhu Hanqiang, director of the Green Environmental Initiative, is worried that the recycling industry will have difficulty supporting operations. He explained that even a country that has implemented a producer responsibility system can hardly achieve 100% recycling. It is good to achieve 70%. For Hong Kong, which has only three districts and has not fully implemented the plastic recycling policy Harder.
According to statistics from the Census and Statistics Department, the import volume of waste plastics in 2014 was 3.078 million metric tons. Until the beginning of 2018, the mainland gradually tightened the import control of recyclable materials (including waste plastics). In the same year, the import volume decreased to 601,000 metric tons, a decrease of 80%. At present, some recyclers still rely on foreign plastic imports, but the Basel Convention will regulate the global waste plastics trade next year. Unless approved by the importing country, it will not export mixed, non-recyclable and contaminated plastic waste, and some plastics will be cut off. From the source, Zhu Hanqiang foresees that recyclers can only "cut money" to wait for far-reaching garbage charges, or to close down. He continued that the limited government support and the collapse of public confidence in the recycling system made it difficult to support the continuous development of many plastic factories at the same time, which also caused ripple effects. When the garbage charges were discussed again, political parties and the public criticized the lack of recycling facilities.
[Where is the waste rubber] Insufficient recovery manufacturers import foreign rubber support operations
[Where to go to waste plastics] Discarded bottles become expensive and reborn. Taiwan recyclers hope to reuse them locally
Zhu Hanqiang said that the recycling system was underdeveloped under the support of limited policies. He was worried that Hong Kong's plastic factories would be closed due to insufficient recycling, and it would be more difficult to promote recycling in the future. (Profile picture/Photo by Wu Zhongkun)
Cut off foreign glue, have recyclers or leave the field to stop the loss
Huang Weihao, vice chairman of the Hong Kong Waste Plastics Association, is a partner of the Waste Plastic Recycling Factory "Leeport", processing 220 metric tons of plastic every week, less than 10% of which comes from Hong Kong, and the rest comes from foreign countries. Benefiting from the subsidies provided by some governments, such as the British government, for the local recycling industry, the price of a metric ton of unsorted miscellaneous glue is about HK$500, which is similar to the price of his local recycled plastic. Faced with the fact that he will no longer be able to accept foreign plastics next year, he bluntly said, "I'm so worried, the cost of going out is very high, and I don't plan to do it at worst." Hankang Recycling, which also relies on foreign rubber, also revealed that if the amount of local rubber is insufficient, production can only be reduced.
Some recyclers worry that foreign plastics will be cut off, making business more difficult to do. Other recyclers believe that as long as there are economic incentives and enough publicity, they can still maintain their livelihoods. (Photo by Zeng Ziyang)
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The garbage levy will be "born in the womb"
The EPD replied that it will depend on the experience and effectiveness of the pilot scheme, with reference to the content and progress of the plastic beverage container producer responsibility plan to be introduced later, and consider extending the service to all districts in Hong Kong in the long run. Zhu Hanqiang believes that the producer responsibility plan only covers plastic bottles, which is not inconsistent with the central rubber collection plan. On the contrary, it should be carried out simultaneously. The government also has the responsibility to build a perfect recycling system. He suggested that we speed up the implementation of the central government's pace of collecting plastics and the responsibility of plastic beverage container producers to prevent the expiration of the current term of the government two years later and the relevant recycling policy to "end up".
Waste charges have been brewing for 15 years. The Secretary for the Environment, Huang Jinxing, expected to implement them next year, but the Legislative Council Bills Committee on Waste Levy Bill has met many times and there is still no consensus. The term of the current Legislative Council is about to expire, and members recently agreed to terminate the deliberations and expressed their wishes. Finally, 12 people agreed and 9 people disagreed.
The plastic recovery rate will gradually increase, and will it deteriorate further? (Photo by Zeng Ziyang)
It is He Junxian, the vice chairman of the Bills Committee, to propose whether to continue to consider the ordinance. He emphasized that he does not oppose garbage charging. It is only that the draft encounters "natural disasters and man-made disasters" and is "born in the womb" under the influence of political struggles and epidemics. He criticized that the recycling industry owes land, is affected by the "green hedge action" in the mainland, and the Hong Kong government has no policy support. In addition, in the past, the EPD’s enforcement has been limited. He believes that the department must have strong and effective law enforcement and optimize the garbage collection system in order to achieve the maximum Support.
Tan Wenhao, the Citizen Party, said that the majority of the members of the committee were formed. The meeting was like a talk show, which was constantly being delayed. He believes that even the business community also has corporate social responsibility, and the public will understand that the policy starting point is good, so that society can reduce waste, but some members may have misunderstood the public's wishes, or have repeatedly opposed in order to win votes, and do not feel whether the garbage charges can be implemented. optimism.
The EPA stated that it will continue to cooperate with the deliberations of the relevant bill committees of the Legislative Council, but regardless of whether the draft can be passed in this legislative year, it will continue to carry out publicity and education and other preparations for the implementation of garbage charges, so that future regulations will be passed Smoother implementation.
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