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Residents dump three-coloured waste separation bins

Ms Choy, who follows local environment affairs closely, said it was normal for residents to give their recyclable wastes to recyclers instead of putting them into waste separation bins since the system was on a voluntary basis.

Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Waste Management Association considers that recycling is good only if waste has been reduced and reused as far as possible.

But that is not the case in Hong Kong , according to the local environmental group, which aims at working towards effective waste management for a sustainable society.

On residents selling their recyclable wastes on their own, its chairman Alexi Bhanja said: “Understandably, residents prefer to be paid for their recyclables, which is why they are selling them directly to collectors rather than placing them in the three-colour bins for which they receive nothing. Hopefully this results in more recycling and less disposal.”

Mr Bhanja said the fundamental way to cut down wastes was to charge those who produced and disposed the wastes.

“Residents will be further encouraged to reduce, reuse, recycle and thereby minimise the quantities of waste requiring treatment and disposal, which is a move towards sustainable waste management,” he said.

He expected the EPD’s schemes would become more effective if waste charging was introduced.

The government is studying the introduction of a variable rate charging system and has said it will consult the public before introducing a bill into the legislature.

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Not many residents put their waste in three-coloured waste separation bins.