Both the challenge and solution to Hong Kong’s trash problem can be found under the Monster Building, a block of Quarry Bay highrises that houses 10,000 residents and is infamous for its extraordinary density.  Its 10,000 residents keep their home impressively neat, with barely any litter in its many passageways.

If you head into the Monster Building’s bowels, past a subterranean wet market and out the back door, you’ll find yourself at Green@Community Quarry Bay, one of the “recycling stores” set up by the government in conjunction with local NGOs. Like all such shops, this one is clean and bright, with helpful staff and portals for separating waste.

Despite efforts like these, Hong Kong has failed repeatedly to meet its environmental targets. A 2013 goal to reduce per capita garbage disposal actually led to a rise – not drop – in this figure by 2019.  Our landfills were predicted to have run out of space last year.

The government’s answer? A municipal solid waste (MSW) charging bill that will require residents to pay to throw out their trash. But is this a fair solution, particularly for working-class communities, when recycling facilities are so sparse?

Recyclables overflowing at Green@Quarry Bay. Video: Joyce Lau / JMSC.

At Green@Community Tai Kok Tsui, a similar shop in Kowloon, residents said it was inconvenient to responsibly dispose of their waste on a daily basis.  “I want to recycle, but it’s a 20-minute walk here,” said Ms Ng, who had a large bag of plastics on one shoulder. “So I only make it every two or three weeks.” 

Mr Lam, another local resident, also only made the trek every two weeks. When asked about the MSW charging scheme, he said “it won’t affect me financially too much, but it will affect the poor in society.” 

Mr Au, the project manager of a MSW pilot scheme for Grassroot Cultural Hub Limited, a non-profit focused on environmental and poverty issues, confirmed that many residents walked more than 20 minutes to get to the right recycling station. 

“Sorting waste for recycling is still not in the mainstream,” he said. 

Staff from Green@Community Tai Kok Tsui even drive a van around the neighbourhood to collect recyclables, which they then try to load into the small shop, fighting for space with pedestrians on the sidewalk.

While Green@Community shops were doing the best they could, the larger areas around them were filled with trash. In Quarry Bay, a pile of office refuse – papers, books, tiles and even an abandoned backpack – sat under a faded sign that said “Littering Fixed Penalty $1500”. In Mongkok, garbage surround recycling bins, and dozens of styrofoam food containers stood on a street corner in a wet market.

Narrow staircases inside a “three-nil” building.
Video: Noble Mak / JMSC

“A blow for grassroot families”

“The charging scheme will be a blow for grassroot families,” Mr Chum added. “This is particularly true for those who do not receive social security assistants or government subsidies. Their wallets are already tight.” While the MSW scheme will give a HK $10 (US $1.30) monthly allowance to households receiving certain state support, many low-income households will fall between the cracks.

Mr Chum admitted that residents could look for workarounds, like dumping garbage on rooftops, yards, stairwells or other places with no monitoring.  “For example, they may flush garbage down the toilet, especially food waste,” he said.

Tenement Houses / “Tong Lau”

Some groups are already looking for solutions, including among “Tong Lau” (唐樓), or traditional tenement buildings typically occupied by the poor and elderly. 

One group sought to install a processor under kitchen sinks, which breaks down food waste  such that the latter can go down the drain together with sewage. This helps reduce household waste significantly, as food waste is the major source of garbage that are often taken out on a daily basis for hygiene reasons, according to Victor Chow, project manager of the scheme, which is run by the Central & Western Mid-Levels Owners Association. The association is one of about 50 supported by the government’s Environmental and Conservation Fund to test the MSW scheme.

“Participants realized that, without food waste, the MSW scheme might not impact them very much,” he said. “For example, without food waste, I personally would only have to take out the trash once a week.” Mr Chow added that most households were positive about using the machine. 

However, most households in tenement buildings were unable to install the machine, due to size restrictions. Modified drainage systems in the case of subdivided flats also prevented installation of these machines. Eventually, only three households in the scheme installed the food waste processor.

Heavy fines

Some question whether the poorest will be punished if they won’t, or can’t, comply.

At the bottom of the government’s MSW Scheme website is a section called “proposed enforcement agreements,” which says that officers will report “black spots” and “conduct surveillance and enforcement.”  A first warning could cost HK $1,500 (US $192). A serious offender could be fined HK $25,000 on a first conviction or HK $50,000 on subsequent convictions, plus up to six months in jail. 

Frontline cleaning staff

The website also says “frontline cleaning staff” will be tasked with “refusing to collect non-compliant waste” – which could put undue burden on cleaners, who themselves are among the poorest groups.

One cleaner, who asked to be unnamed, said that “this just means more work for us. If someone dumps their garbage on the street at midnight, there’s nothing we can do about it.” He also said that he was worried about the pressure of having to field potential arguments or conflicts.

On the other end of the income spectrum, middle-class families, corporations and businesses may not be incentivised to change habits, if monthly fees are the equivalent of an average office worker’s takeout lunch.

William Lam and Doris Chan, project managers of an ongoing MSW trial scheme at Hong Kong Science Park, worry that high-tech office-goers may not be bothered one way or the other. “Some tenants told us that their staff might not care much, as the fees will be paid by the company,” Lam said. 

Similarly, Mr Lo, the environmentalist felt that the MSW charge itself would not drive significant change. Lo has a day-job as the circular economy senior manager for Sustainable Office Solutions (SOS), a company that helps corporate clients reduce waste. 

“It may cost HK $10 to $15 to throw away an item like a chair,” he said, gesturing at the furnishings at his office in Tai Koo. “But a designer office chair can cost hundreds or thousands.”

He believed that ESG (environmental, social and corporate governance) goals – for example, those cited by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange – would be a greater incentive. He also felt that some clients, like accounting giant EY, genuinely wanted to have greener practices. 

Mr Lo supported the MSW charging scheme, however imperfect it may be. 

“It will be a big disruption on behavorial change that Hong Kong needs,” he said. “Our landfills are at capacity. There’s only two left, and all the government does is expand them. We’ve been waiting years for this scheme. We should just do it.”