Yuen Long Industrial Estate's Zhuanchuang Beverage Box Recycling Plant was forced to be relocated or shut down, beckoned by Singapore

In recent years, the Hong Kong Science and Technology Park has determined to reposition the industrial estate and changed its name to "Innovation Park", but in the process of transformation, it has to sacrifice an environmentally friendly recycling plant.

Located in Yuen Long Industrial Estate, "Mil Mill" is the only recycler in Hong Kong that can process interlayer packaging such as paper-packed beverage boxes and magazine covers. It was notified that the lease would not be renewed, and that it was forced to move out at the end of the year. The other party explained that the industrial village was going to transform and develop a microelectronics center.

Mil Mill currently recycles two to three tons of paper-packed drink boxes every day. Ye Wenqi, co-founder of the company, pointed out that due to the time it takes to find a land to build a factory, if the operation is to be stopped at the end of the year, the related recyclables may be disposed of in the landfill in the future. Therefore, it is hoped that the other party will give a three-year grace period.

The recycling factory in Hong Kong was coldly treated and forced to relocate. Hong Kong’s main competitor, Singapore, beckoned to Mil Mill, hoping to help them set up a local factory, but Ye Wenqi said frankly: “I was born in Hong Kong and was born in Hong Kong. After doing recycling, I belong to the community. The feeling is even greater, we don’t want to give up Hong Kong as a place.”

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Interlayer wrapping paper such as paper-packed drink boxes was once considered non-recyclable because it contained plastic and other materials. In 2020 alone, an average of about 66 metric tons were disposed of in landfills every day.

After the opening in October 2019, Mil Mill, a recycling pulp mill specializing in the processing of paper-packaged drink boxes and miscellaneous paper, will send the paper-packaged drink boxes to Mil Mill for processing at recycling stations such as "Green in the District". And converted into pulp, and then made into toilet paper, toilet paper, etc.

The recycling network for paper-packed beverage boxes started from scratch. Ye Wenqi pointed out that the recycling factory now has nearly 600 recycling points, including the "recycling convenience points" in the green zone.

For example, he pointed out that the current recycling volume of paper-packed drink boxes is two to three tons per day, that is, more than 200,000 paper-packed drink boxes; and the daily processing volume of office paper and miscellaneous paper other than cardboard is 10 tons.

He joked that even mooncake boxes and playing cards can be recycled and beaten.

As for other recyclables such as plastics and electrical appliances, Mil Mill will also assist in processing them, sorting them at the factory and handing them over to other recyclers.

Existing tenants of Yuen Long Industrial Estate to be transformed into a microelectronics center are evicted

Although the business is on track, Mil Mill received a notice from the Science and Technology Park Company earlier this month that the lease will not be renewed until the end of December this year, and the plant site must be returned.

Lu Zhicong, another co-founder of Mil Mill, pointed out that after receiving the news, he immediately met with the Science and Technology Park Company, and his representative explained at the meeting that because "the microelectronics center will be built in the back, and the surrounding factories will not renew their contracts one after another, because It will affect the progress of the project.”

Lu Wugui said that during the four-year lease, two years were affected by the epidemic, and the actual operation time of the factory was not long. Before setting up Mil Mill, the two spent nearly two years finding a place to set up a factory, and it took nine hours to install the machine. It is not easy to relocate the factory in April, so I once proposed to the Science and Technology Park Company to postpone the relocation period, but the other party responded "hard" and said that it would not be considered.

Lu bluntly said that if Mil Mill is going to be shut down due to the relocation of the factory, the recycling points in the districts, shopping malls and schools will also stop accepting paper-packaged drink boxes: "It's a pity that our investment has fallen away, and The whole recycling chain will be broken immediately.” He hopes that the recycling plant will continue to operate, avoiding valuable recyclables, which will eventually be disposed of in the accumulation area.

The recycling plant hopes to have more time to find another location to set up a factory

"It took a lot of hard work, of course, because I hope to continue the business, but I never gave up, because we really want to continue doing this." Ye Wenqi bluntly expressed that she was disappointed by the incident, but also said that she understood that the Science and Technology Park Company may not be able to long-term. Lease it out to Mil Mill for operation, emphasizing that they are willing to relocate, but hope to allow a three-year grace period to allow them sufficient time to find another location to set up a factory.

At present, Mil Mill mainly sells recycled paper towels. Ye Wenqi and Lu Zhicong planned to develop cat litter and even environmentally friendly coffins from recycled materials.

However, due to the need to add additional machinery for development, the plan was temporarily shelved: "Without a stable foundation and place to operate, 𠵱home is only for firefighting, and cannot handle long-term development at all."

In the face of ruthless forced relocation in Hong Kong, Singapore was invited to discuss the construction of a local factory and recycling network

When the two were melancholy, Singapore waved to Mil Mill and invited the two to discuss moving the recycling model to the local area and discussing the feasibility of setting up a local factory.

Ye Wenqi explained that Singapore's waste treatment method in the early years has been changed to the use of new incinerators, so the recycling rate is much lower than that of Hong Kong.

In recent years, the Singaporean authorities have been determined to increase the recycling rate, and invited Mil Mill to provide advice on establishing a recycling network.

Marven Ye: I don't want to give up Hong Kong as a place

Ye Wenqi and Lu Zhicong invested nearly 10 million yuan to build a factory in Hong Kong. After three years of operation, they also suffered losses. Now they are facing the crisis of ruthless forced eviction.

However, Marven Ye said bluntly that she has not thought about giving up running Mil Mill in Hong Kong: "The more we interact with the community, the more deeply we have feelings for the community, and I don't want to give up Hong Kong." What moved him the most was the public's Support, and said that many citizens deliberately collected miscellaneous paper and paper-wrapped beverage boxes at home and mailed them to the Mil Mill factory: "Everything is very clean, and some people think that it is garbage, and they must insist on sending it to us for disposal. "

Asked the EPD for help, but no response

In terms of finding land, Lu Zhicong pointed out that he had emailed the Environmental Protection Department for assistance, but there was no reply for the time being.

He explained that since the project is funded by the Recycling Fund, there are certain requirements for the site selection of the factory, including compliance with sewage and waste treatment regulations, etc. In addition, the power supply must also be sufficient.

He bluntly said that Mil Mill has developed recycling technology and network, but lacks plant land, so he hopes the government can help find land: "It doesn't have to be an environmental protection park, the most important thing is that the lease can last for a long time."

Science and Technology Park Corporation: Repositioning Industrial Estates as Innovation Parks

The Science and Technology Park Company responded that the short-term lease signed in 2019 with Mil Mill's parent company Information Confidentiality Management Co., Ltd. had ended.

After communication, a special arrangement was made last year to renew the contract for one year, emphasizing that it would continue to negotiate with the company about its move-out time, and to give a more time limit as needed.

The Science and Technology Park Company also pointed out that last year, it repositioned three industrial villages as innovation parks, and is committed to promoting the development of "re-industrialization", and will carefully plan the land for innovation parks in accordance with relevant principles, and has established policies and approval procedures, requiring leaseholders People operate in accordance with the terms of the lease.

The EPD responded to "Hong Kong 01" stating that it was not aware of the incident, and would check with the relevant parties to see if there was any need for assistance.

Regarding the recycling of paper-packed drink boxes, the department stated that it has been actively seeking ways to increase the local downstream recycling capacity of paper-packed drink boxes, including identifying more operators to provide services, and expects that the EcoPark pulp production facility will start operating in 2025. At that time, the recycling capacity of local paper-packaged drink boxes will be greatly increased.

In terms of land support, the EPD stated that it has been cooperating with relevant departments to find suitable short-term lease sites for the recycling industry to bid and use; it has also leased out EcoPark sites through public tenders to provide long-term land for the recycling industry.

At present, there are 18 short-term tenancy sites dedicated to the recycling industry, covering a total area of ​​4.7 hectares. There will be three short-term tenancy sites dedicated to the recycling industry, which are suitable for operating various recycling businesses, including waste paper recycling.

The remaining two parcels of 1.3 hectares of land in the EcoPark have not yet been leased. The department said that the timetable for the next short-term lease and the public tender for the EcoPark will be announced in due course.

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