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| January 2000 Environmental issues Profits elude recycling firms By Alison Yeung Articles from the same section:
Conditions for the development of local recycling industries are so poor that the industries will be stagnant if the current situation is not improved. Local recycling industries have a lot of problems, and profits are not always possible. Future’s Safe Company Limited, the only paper recycling plant left in Hong Kong, is a typical example. Mr. Sunny Wong, manager of material supply for the company, said there is no big money in recycling. “The cost of raw materials is as high as 50 percent of the price of end products. Also, paper must be recycled on a large scale and the capital input is very great,” explained Mr. Wong. Because of the high cost, recycled products are usually more expensive than ordinary products. This makes recycled goods less attractive to customers. Mr. Wong said, “The price of virgin paper is lower than that of recycled copy paper. Therefore no local firm will bother to use recycled copy paper.” As a result, the company can rely only on the production of low-value paper like kraft board and liner board for paper boxes. Besides, the lack of government support hinders local-recycling industries’ development. Said Mr. Wong: “Unlike other countries, the recycling industries in Hong Kong have never obtained subsidies or technical advice from the government. “In countries like South Korea, the Netherlands and Germany, the government gives rewards to recycling firms for helping the government to solve the landfill problem,” Mr. Wong added. Therefore, local recycling firms are dragged into a weak position when competing with firms in other countries. “Most of our products are exported to China, and we face keen competition. While other countries are backed up by strong internal markets and the government, our position is far from competitive,” said Mr. Wong. Mr. Tom Lai, senior environment protection officer for the Environmental Protection Department, said the government did not ignore the difficulties faced by recycling industries and plans have been made to help them. For example, collectors of recyclable waste work on a small scale because of the lack of land. Therefore, the government has decided to lease appropriate sites to waste recycling industries up to 5 years. Also, the government takes the lead in using recycled products such as recycled paper. The government hopes that private firms and the public will follow suit. In this way, recycling businesses are encouraged by the increasing local demand of recycled products. According to Mr. Lai, the landfill-charging scheme, which is one of the executions of “polluter pays principle” policy, can motivate people to recycle. Said Mr. Lai: “Without the landfill charge, people bear no cost when they dump waste. “There is no financial incentive for them to recycle,” he said. However, Prof. Chu Lee Man of the Environmental Science Department of The Chinese University of Hong Kong said that the charging plan might not promote recycling but cause adverse effects to the environment. Said Prof. Chu: “People may evade the responsibility by throwing rubbish on the streets. “Land pollution may worsen.” Admitting the unfavorable factors and unpredictable results of government policy, local recycling industries are earnestly looking forward to better development of local policies. |
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