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Legislative Council︱ Waste Levy Draft Second Reading Institutionalists Advocate More Recycling Facilities

2021-08-25T09:09:43.661Z


The Legislative Council met today (August 25). At the meeting, the Second Reading debate was resumed on the Waste Disposal (Municipal Solid Waste Charges) (Amendment) Bill 2018. "Legal Practitioners (Amendment) Section 2021


The Legislative Council met today (August 25).

At the meeting, the Second Reading debate was resumed on the Waste Disposal (Municipal Solid Waste Charges) (Amendment) Bill 2018.

The second reading debate on the "Legal Practitioners (Amendment) Bill 2021" and the "Ocean Park Corporation (Amendment) Bill 2021" will also resume.


The draft of the garbage levy has been controversial for a long time. Members of many parties are concerned about whether the fee will bring a burden to the grassroots citizens. Originally, the Legislative Council had been "dead-born", but due to the extension of the legislative office, it was "reborn".

The government finally agreed to set an 18-month preparation period after the bill was passed, before deciding on the effective date, and considering sending designated garbage bags free of charge in the early stage of the regulations to help citizens adapt.


Regarding members’ motions, Lu Songxiong will propose a motion to protect the rights and interests of platform workers. Guo Weiqiang and Pan Zhaoping will respectively propose amendments to Lu Songxiong’s motion. Xie Weijun will propose a motion on decisive response to foreign interference in Hong Kong’s affairs.


At the meeting, apart from the passionate citizen councillor Cheng Songtai who expressed opposition to garbage levy, many parliaments who spoke expressed support, but reminded the government to take sufficient supporting measures, including educating citizens to raise awareness of environmental protection and recycling, and adding more recycling facilities.


The bill will continue to be reviewed tomorrow morning, and the Secretary will speak at that time.


Chen Peiran urges the government to support low-income families and residents of Sanwu Building

[16:35] Chen Peiran from the medical field pointed out that the current fee model is complicated and it is confusing to question.

The burden is not too heavy for families, and educating the public to reduce the volume of waste and to recycle the recyclable waste is the next challenge for the government. The government should specifically target low-income families and residents of the "three no buildings" Support measures.

[16:30] Heung Yee Kuk Liu Yeqiang said that Hong Kong’s collection points are insufficient. Taking the "green in the district" as an example, there is only one location in Tseung Kwan O in Sai Kung District. If people in other rural areas want to recycle, they need to drive there, which is very inconvenient.

[16:15] Chen Keqin said that he supported waste levy from the beginning, and spent a long time discussing the details, not to "delay it."

He reiterated that at the beginning of the "four computers and one brain" policy, low-value rubbish was illegally dumped. In terms of building waste charges, many back lanes have also seen dumping anywhere.

He said that this time the discussion is about household waste, and the amount is larger. Therefore, it takes time to discuss the details with the government so as not to cause the "garbage siege" to be secretly disposed of by the public.

He gave examples of how to levy garbage collection in rural areas and how to monitor them. There may be loopholes that need to be carefully reviewed.

He praised the Environment Bureau for setting up a plastic bottle recycling machine, which was used by a large number of citizens, and confirmed that the citizens are actively participating in environmental protection.

Chan Keqin also said that Hong Kong now "has recycling but no recycling" and hopes to handle the development of the entire industry.

[15:20] The Liberal Party Shao Jiahui said that after the implementation of the bill, the government needs to monitor citizens for breaking the law. He pointed out that some citizens must have dropped a small amount of garbage into the trash can on the street.

Zheng Songtai, a passionate citizen, said that with the experience of levying plastic bags, plastic bags are used less, but the society produces too many reusable bags, and reusable bags also contain plastic. He believes that the effect of levying fees to the public is not good.

In order to strengthen law enforcement, the government may need to install a large number of closed-circuit televisions to monitor whether the citizens have stolen the garbage, which will also hinder the citizens' freedom.

The Democratic Alliance for Betterment of Hong Kong pointed out that any measures will have loopholes, and the government must consider them comprehensively.

He pointed out that it is necessary to have sufficient and convenient recycling facilities and strengthen incentives to attract citizens to sort out garbage and reduce fees at the source.

Ke Chuangsheng emphasized that law enforcement and education complement each other to achieve the goal.

9 types of garbage bags cost 0.11 yuan per liter, the smallest is 3 liters

The Secretary for the Environment, Huang Jinxing, pointed out earlier that after the legislation is passed, there will be an 18-month preparation period. Initially, the government will distribute garbage bags free of charge to assist the public in adapting to the food waste problem.

According to the legislative documents submitted by the government, the designated garbage bag charge is set at 0.11 yuan per liter, divided into 9 types from 3 liters to 100 liters. If a family of three uses a designated garbage bag of 10 liters or 15 liters a day, they will have to pay 33 per month. Yuan or 51 Yuan.

The Hong Kong government plans to increase the standard amount of 10 yuan per person per month for all CSSA recipients after the implementation of garbage collection.

As for large garbage that cannot be packed in designated garbage bags, including furniture, a flat fee of $11 is charged for each item, and the public must affix designated labels before disposal.

The government stated that the designated garbage bags and the designated labels required for large garbage are all equipped with anti-counterfeiting features and can be purchased at about 4,000 authorized sales points, including supermarkets, convenience stores, petrol stations, post offices, and vending machines. It can also be purchased through authorized online platforms.

After the first 18 months of the preparation period, there will be a period of "adaptation period" during which warnings will be issued for offenders intercepted on the spot, and enforcement actions will be taken against serious violations.

After the adaptation period, if the offender is intercepted on the spot, a 1,500 yuan fixed penalty notice will be issued.

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01News

Source: hk1

All news articles on 2021-08-25

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