Hong Kong Considers Trash Fees – By Matthew Keegan (US News) / Dec 11 2019
Hong Kong, which is running out of space for its waste, may be the latest Asian city to charge for trash disposal.
HONG KONG — With its picture-postcard skyline, Hong Kong gives the impression of a shiny, ultra-modern metropolis. But scratch the surface and beyond its gleaming skyscrapers the city is struggling to keep a lid on a monumental trash problem: it’s rapidly running out of space to dispose of its waste.
Land shortage is a well-documented issue in Hong Kong. Not only has it caused a housing crisis but also a waste crisis. The city has already used up 13 landfills. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s three remaining landfill sites are piled high with trash and are set to reach capacity by 2020. Experts fear the worst.
“Our landfills are expanding; perhaps 10% [of space] left and we cannot find anywhere to build any new one except the expansion of the existing ones,” says Chan King Ming, director of environmental science at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
One step the government is taking to try and reduce waste is to introduce a mandatory waste charging plan. Under the proposed scheme, residents will need to pay for designated plastic bags for their trash. The hope is that the plan will make residents produce less waste and encourage recycling, which is free.
The charge will be 4 cents (HK$ 30 cents) for the smallest .8 gallon (3-liter) bag, while the biggest 26-gallon bag will cost $1.40. Once the scheme takes effect, a household of three is estimated to pay about 22 cents every day for the standard 4-gallon bag – roughly the same size as a supermarket plastic bag – running a tab of about $6.50 per month.
Residents receiving welfare payments will be given subsidies for their costs. Failure to dispose of waste with the designated bags will lead to fines and under severe circumstances, imprisonment.
Continue to article: https://www.usnews.com/news/cities/articles/2019-12-11/hong-kong-considers-charging-for-trash
