Under the impact of the new crown pneumonia, there has been a rubber disaster. However, the plastic recycling rate in 2020 will only be 11%. It will wait until the garbage charge is introduced, and the latest timetable will not be implemented until the second half of next year.
The spread of the epidemic has not only changed people's daily life, but also affected daily environmental recycling.
Some large-scale recyclers have stopped collecting waste plastic on a large scale earlier, including the suspension of their plastic recycling services for residential housing estates. The government needs to arrange another "green in the district" to take over follow-up.
According to some industry sources, it is no longer possible to rely on foreign plastics to make a living, the local recycling volume has decreased, and the lack of subsidies and policy support has finally triggered a wave of closures. .
Youhuan Group believes that the government should implement producer responsibility regulations and garbage charges as soon as possible, and expect to wait at least two years before the recycling rate rises to more than 30%.
▼Under the epidemic situation, the glue disaster is getting more and more serious▼
+5
A large recycler "Baguio Waste and Recycling Co., Ltd." launched a one-stop recycling platform "Love Recycling" two years ago to provide door-to-door recycling services. The threshold is not high. The public only needs to collect no less than 10 cleaned plastics Bottles (limited to No. 1 PET, No. 2 HDPE, and No. 5 PP) or glass bottles can be collected by phone, and you can earn points to exchange for gifts.
"Hong Kong 01" received news that Baguio has stopped collection since the beginning of last month, including recycling services in many housing estates.
Some recyclers revealed that they had received assistance from relevant housing estates.
The reporter asked Baguio as a customer. The other party replied that due to the continued deterioration of the epidemic, in order to cooperate with the epidemic prevention measures and protect the health of customers and employees, the home recycling service will be suspended until further notice. Find a nearby recycling point.
The EPD replied that it has learned that Baguio has suspended the provision of plastic recycling services for its service residential estates since March, and has arranged for the "Green in the District" operating group to contact and follow up with the affected estates.
Environmental protection garden rubber factory was delayed for two years and finally put into operation this year
A person familiar with the matter revealed that the amount of plastic recycling has been greatly reduced due to the epidemic, and the cost of recycling is also high. In addition, the plastic recycling plant jointly operated by the Environmental Park has not yet been put into operation. Baguio has hoarded thousands of tons of waste plastic, and the situation has been "exploded". Suspend most recycling services and maintain only a small amount of recycling.
According to the information, the EPD awarded contracts to a joint venture company of Baguio, Alba and Swire Coca-Cola as early as 2017 to operate the waste plastic treatment facility in Tuen Mun Eco-Park in the form of a "design, build and operate" contract.
The factory was originally planned to be completed in 2019 at the earliest, but it has been delayed again and again.
Baguio explained earlier that the project was delayed due to the impact of the epidemic, and the latest is expected to be officially put into production in the middle of this year.
According to the 2020 Hong Kong Solid Waste Monitoring Report, the amount of plastic disposal is estimated to be 2,312 tonnes per day (21% of the total disposal volume). The recycling rate has slightly recovered, but it is still only 11%.
(File photo/Photo by Zeng Ziyang)
It is expected that the door-to-door recycling service will be restarted at the end of the month, and the central glue collection will be carried out
Baguio currently holds a number of recycling contracts from the government, including the Central and Western District, Eastern District and Kwun Tong Central Recycling Contracts approved at the end of January this year.
Baguio responded to the inquiries of "Hong Kong 01", admitting to stop collecting plastics in housing estates, hoping to concentrate resources on the central plastic collection service in the three districts, and the "Love Recycling" service will be resumed at the end of this month at the earliest.
The spokesman explained that due to the epidemic, some premises were closed for inspection, and the requirements for recycling services were changed. In addition, the demand for different plastic processing facilities and the market for recyclable plastics was also adjusted due to the global epidemic. Therefore, the recycling services and storage arrangements have been adjusted. Flexible handling.
The company expects that the central plastic collection service in the host area will be launched at the end of this month. As for the plastic recycling facility in the environmental protection park, it has entered the stage of fine-tuning and testing, and it is optimistic that it will be put into operation this year.
According to the documents of the Environment Bureau, the central plastic collection service in the nine districts covers more than half of the population of Hong Kong, and the daily recycling volume is expected to reach 16 tonnes.
The Eco-Park Plastics Plant is expected to process and recycle 35,000 metric tons of PET and HDPE plastics per year, or about 96 metric tons per day on average, which means that recycling channels still need to be expanded significantly to achieve the plant's maximum processing capacity.
The government has gradually expanded the pilot scheme to nine districts from the end of March this year. The new contract will last for two years. Three different contractors will be responsible for the three districts, covering more than half the population of Hong Kong. The estimated daily recycling volume is 16 tonnes.
(File photo/Photo by Zeng Ziyang)
Overseas transportation costs soar under the epidemic, local recyclers are closing down
In the early years, many local recyclers made a living by buying plastic from foreign countries, but with the amendment of the Basel Convention last year, the control over the transboundary movement of waste plastics has been strengthened, triggering a wave of closures.
A person in charge of a closed factory revealed that the local recycling cost is too high and the recycling volume is insufficient. In addition, the threshold for importing foreign rubber has been raised. If there is no government funding, it is difficult to operate.
Environmental protection into the city - Juncheng Development Co., Ltd. mainly dealt with imported plastics two years ago, and since last year, it mainly dealt with local plastics.
The person in charge and vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Waste Plastics Association, Huang Weihao, admitted that Hong Kong has not implemented a garbage levy and that there is no incentive for recycling. The recycling rate of plastics in Hong Kong is low, and his company has been losing money. In addition to the government's central plastic collection plan, three companies have been subsidized in a centralized manner. Recycling companies, and the sporadic industry that is expected to survive, are only "suffering" until the policy is introduced.
He believes that there is still a recycling fund to subsidize waste plastic recycling.
Liu Yiucheng, president of the Hong Kong Environmental Waste Recycling Industry Association, also said that most plastic recycling sites have been shut down due to the epidemic, overseas transportation costs have skyrocketed, and operating costs are too high to survive.
There is a lot of industrial plastic waste in Hong Kong, and it is easier to handle a single type of plastic waste. It is estimated that only a few factories are still active.
However, he pointed out that there are many types of household waste rubber, and recyclers need to rely on government subsidies to survive.
Liu Yaocheng, president of the Hong Kong Environmental Waste Recycling Industry Association, believes that there are many types of household waste rubber, and recyclers need government subsidies to survive.
(File photo / Photo by Ojiale)
The recycling rate of ring-shaped plastics has risen to more than 30% and wait at least two years
Zhu Hanqiang, director of the Green Earth Environment Initiative, believes that the plastic reduction policy in Hong Kong has not been implemented. It is difficult to support the operation of the industry's machines for a long time by relying on spontaneous recycling by citizens.
Zhu Xu said that even if there is a central plastic collection contractor, it cannot handle all kinds of plastics, and some must be diverted to downstream recyclers for processing. Only when there is a large amount can someone take over to stabilize the production line. Therefore, the authorities should implement the producer responsibility system and garbage collection as soon as possible. It is expected to wait at least two years for the local plastic recycling rate to rise to more than 30%.
Central plastic collection and transformation into nine districts Baguio joins the ranks of recycling There is no uniform standard for the proliferation of products with hidden conditions, and the group urges the regulation of the plastic bag tax | The Hong Kong government plans to double to one yuan for takeaways and limit one bag of frozen food for free. Free delivery of plastic cover bags Styrofoam box siege unsolved